


Edge of the Water

by floatingpetals



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Alternate Universe - Mermaid, Attempted Murder, Established Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Reader is human, Slow Burn, Threesome - F/M/M, bucky and steve are mermen, bucky and steve worry alot, for good reasons, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-30 19:10:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 98,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15103106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingpetals/pseuds/floatingpetals
Summary: The sea had been Bucky’s and Steve’s life, both content to swim from ocean to ocean, side by side. A part of them always felt as if they were missing something, but neither could tell what. One night they come across a woman, and it’s as if their pieces fell into place. Only she comes with her own baggage and past horrors. Neither Bucky or Steve are willing to live their life without her, but first, they have to figure out how to help her with her own.





	1. Prologue

Growing up, she had always been told that one day she’d find the man of her dreams and live happily ever after. To her, a happy family was all she needed in life. Along with her dream of being a teacher, finding a husband had been her drive, to find her other half and to grow old alongside with him until the end of her life. The large dazzling rock on her left ring finger reminded her that she finally accomplished her dream, that she was going to have her happily ever after. He was everything she could have hoped for in a future husband. Handsome, kind to a fault, adventurous and wonderfully charming. He was the whole package.

Gently taking his hand in hers, Y/N squeezed his fingers lightly as the plane landed on the stip. He turned from the window, his chocolate brown eyes sparklingly with anticipation. His smile mirrored her own, and he didn’t let go of her grip until they had to stand to get their overhead bags. The excitement was bubbling in her stomach as they disembarked the plane, her steps light as she walked beside her fiancé, Taylor. He chuckled at her behavior, bending over to kiss her cheek lightly.

“You excited?”

“You bet I am!” Y/N answered with a squeal, linking her arms through his. They had been planning this trip to the Caribbean for the past three months, and Y/N was more than ready to kick her feet up and relax in the sun and sand. Taylor insisted they go on the trip this week, finding a deal neither could pass up on. Their wedding was almost three weeks away, but he knew Y/N enough that she would need a break. She never complained about the planning but was more than welcoming of the chance of a break. It was such a sweet thought of Taylor’s to know when she’d need to step back for a while.

“Well let’s get you to the hotel, and then you get to pick what we do first.” Taylor hummed, nudging her in the direction of the car rentals. She squealed again, bouncing up and down, begging to ramble on about the things she read about the island. She had been ready for her vacation to start.

* * *

“Okay, so we went to the beach, went to the bar, and then shopped around the little shops. I’m dead.” Taylor groaned collapsing on the bed of their hotel room. “I can’t feel my legs, I have sand in places I never thought I’d have sand in, and I’m pretty sure I’m sunburned.”

Y/N giggled at his pitiful whine, stepping beside the bed to run her fingers through his brown locks. He sighed, leaning into her touch. She straightened the stray hairs before moving over to her suitcase.

“You can nap if you want. We have time before dinner.” Taylor nodded, rolling over onto his back. He kicked off his sandals, snuggling further into the comforter. He cracked an eye open, watching Y/N move about the room, unpacking her suitcase as she went. His brows furrowed for a moment before it smoothed over.

“Hey, you should sleep too.” He tried to persuade her by reaching out to her, making grabby hands as she laughed.

“No, no. You get some sleep, I’ll be fine.” She sent him a smile and hung up her dress in the closet. He huffed, letting his hands fall back to the bed.

“Fine.” He grumbled and without another word buried his head in a pillow. Within seconds he was asleep on the bed, snoring gently. Y/N paused in her unpacking, warmth bubbling in her chest as she looked him over on the bed, legs and arms sprawled out taking up the entire queen bed. She giggled and returned to packing, happy that this was going to a part of her life from now on.

* * *

Four days had passed, and Y/N decided she never wanted to leave. Taylor had let her do every ridiculous touristy thing she wanted all week, following her from one tourist trap to another without an ounce of complaint. He’d hold her hand as she pulled him along, smiling the entire way. Now it was his turn to lead her places, and his last destination of the day was a night time boat ride to go out and see the stars.

“You’ll like it. I promise.” Taylor grinned at the helm, leading the boat out into the water. Y/N didn’t doubt him, she always loved stargazing back home, and to be so far away from the artificial lights, she was sure it was spectacular. When he finally came to a stop and shut the boat off, the sight around her was breathtaking.

“Wow.” She whispered in awe, taking in everything around her. The moon and stars shone brightly in the sky, and the calm water around them mirrored the sky to the ocean below. It was like she stepped right into a dream world, a place she felt wholly safe. Taylor stepped beside her, a glass of champagne in each hand. He passed her a glass before moving her to sit on the cushions along the boat’s side benches. Y/N settled on the cushions, resting her elbow on the edge of the boat never taking her eyes off the sky around her.

“It’s beautiful.” She sighed, taking a sip of the bubbly drink. Taylor watcher her carefully, his face empty until her lips touched the glass. When she tilted her head back to take a large sip, a slow smirk spread across his face that he quickly hid behind his own glass.

“It sure is.” He hummed in agreement, looking at the empty waters surrounding them. There wasn’t a soul in sight, the only sound the water around them gently splashing alongside the boat. His eyes settled on Y/N, searching her face. She sighed in content, taking another large drink from her glass.

Taylor set the glass in his hand down on the ground before he abruptly sat straighter in his seat. Y/N turned at his movement, blinking slowly.

At first, she didn’t notice anything strange. But as she turned her head quickly, she noticed her vision was lagging compared to her movement. Her arms grew heavier by the seconds, and she was having trouble sitting up straight on her own. It was harder and harder for her to focus on Taylor, but she didn’t miss the blank expression on his face.

“What’s goin’ on?” She slurred, the glass slipping from her limp fingers. Taylor was quick to grab the glass from the air before it hit the floor of the boat to shatter. He tutted, roughly grabbing her shoulders to set her up on the back of the seat.

“You never were one to hold your alcohol very well.” He chastised, his brown eyes glinting in the darkness. A shiver went up Y/N’s back at the harshness in his voice and the blood left her face at the sight of his blank eyes. She could just barely focus if she could have she would have begun to panic at the pure evil in his eyes. What was going on and who was this man suddenly in front of her?  “Now, now. No need to start worrying. It’s okay.”

Taylor caressed her hair, gently tucking a stray hair behind her ear. Y/N head rolled back as she tried to avoid his touch, trying to find the strength to bat away his hand. Her arms didn’t listen to her, laying limply beside her on the cushions. This couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t like this, this wasn’t the Taylor she knew and loved. His false sense of reassurance only sent her into a further panic and she struggled to breathe. Her brain was trying to piece it all together, but whatever she was given made it so difficult to focus.

“I know. I know. You don’t know what’s going on. How could this happen? But don’t worry. You wouldn’t have to think about this anymore.” As Taylor spoke, her vision was slowly fading to black around the edges. There was no time for her to consider his words, to wonder what he was talking about before her eyes lid grew heavy and she fought to stay awake. However, it was a battle she was quickly losing despite the fury build within her. She tried to fight back as he reached down to scoop her up into his arms, but it was all in vain. The last she remembered was the dull shine of the stars above her, the sound of wind rushing through her ears and a cold that surrounded her completely, and then, nothing.


	2. Chapter 1

“Tell me again why we have to go see Natasha again?”

Steve twisted his torso around, raising a brow at the childish whine from his mate. Bucky swam beside him, a pout on his face. Even when acting like a child, Steve couldn’t get over how incredibly handsome he was. Steve’s eyes passed behind Bucky’s wide shoulder to watch as his long blue tail cut through the water with ease, occasionally catching some sunlight that shone through the deeper water, a dark green showing through his scales.

“What are you twelve?” Steve grunted, shaking his head and facing forward. “We promised Nat that we’d see her when she’d settle into her new home with her mate. If I recall correctly, you’re the one who made that promise. So, you can thank yourself for this trip.”

Bucky grumbled under his breath, hating how perfect Steve’s memory was. While he did wish to see his best friend Natasha again after almost three years of no contact, he wasn’t too happy about the location she picked to settle. He wasn’t really one to talk, however. At least Natasha finally settled down somewhere. Steve and he still hadn’t settled, despite being mates for almost seven years now. Something kept them from finding a place to call home, a hole they couldn’t figure out was missing from their lives. He wouldn’t admit it aloud, but he felt a twinge of jealousy when he thought of how happy Natasha was now that she found her forever home with her mate. Even if it was in dangerous waters.

“I just don’t like getting that close to a location that’s always swarming with humans. It’s a bad idea waiting to happen.” It made his skin itch knowing he was swimming in tourist waters. As mermen, they had to keep themselves a secret from humans, having seen enough of the horrors their type brought to the world. Everything they touched ended up destroyed, and it scared Bucky to know that his Natasha willingly settled in a reef along the Caribbean.

“If I hear about this for the rest of the trip, you can find some other place to sleep when we get there,” Steve growled, flashing his teeth in irritation. He had already heard it from Bucky when Steve passed the idea along and heard him grumble when Steve figuratively put his foot down to take the trip. He was not going to listen to him for the next three days of their swim. With an extra flick of his steel blue tail, Steve shot off further in front of Bucky, trying to keep distance between them. He tried to ignore his mate, his frustration was mounting, and he really didn’t want to argue with him now. A soft touch to his left hand jolted him from his stewing, Bucky having quietly swum up beside him.

“Steve.” He called out, gently tugging on Steve’s arm to stop him. Slowing to a halt, Steve faced forward with his jaw clenched. He refused to make eye contact, knowing the minute he did, Steve’s resolve would crumble. Bucky recognized there was more to this than Steve was letting on. It was his own fears he struggled with daily reflecting in Steve’s eyes. They weren’t complete, there was a gap they so desperately wanted to fill. Bucky cupped Steve’s cheek, using little force to turn his mate’s face to him. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t any easier for you. One day, I promise.”

He leaned in, his lips brushing against Steve’s cheek. Steve sighed, tilting his head to catch Bucky’s lips before he retreated. He tugged Bucky against his chest, wrapping his arms around him to keep him from drifting too far, desperate to feel the comfort his mate could give him. Bucky swallowed a gasp, melting into Steve’s arm and giving into the kiss. Neither focused on the world around them, Steve poured all he could into the kiss, softly at first, and then gradually more intensely as the second dragged on. Bucky clung to him, his fingers dragging down Steve’s back, pulling a soft moan from his mate. Reluctantly, Steve pulled back, resting his forehead against Bucky’s.

“I know. I know it’ll be okay.” He took in a shuddering breath, tears threating to spill. “It’s just really hard sometimes.”

Bucky nodded, peppering Steve’s face with light kisses in reassurance. The two floated in each other’s arms, finding comfort in one another, pushing aside the dull ache they felt in their hearts.

“Come on.” Bucky nudged Steve’s side, pushing him forward. “Let’s go see Nat. We can worry about this later.”

Steve exhaled softly, nodding against Bucky’s neck. He pulled away, his fingers lingering on Bucky’s skin for a moment longer before fall to his side. Bucky gave him one final kiss on the cheek and led Steve forward. The trip would be long and exhausting with hopefully without anything too exciting happening. Settling in beside each other, the two pushed on.

~~

“Oh, thank god,” Bucky muttered, eyeing the drop off of the reef. Steve chuckled, his own relief echoed in the sound. Both picked up their pace, tired tails flicking to propel them forward. The excitement for a safe place to sleep and relax was their driving force, having spent the past few days pushing forward with limited breaks. Neither felt comfortable enough in the open water to sleep, even with shifts. So, they pushed through the exhaustion, only resting when they would find limited shelter. “I’m so ready to sleep.”

“You and me both,” Steve replied, a smile spreading on his face. He glanced over at Bucky, whose face seemed lighter now that there was an end to their journey. The worry that had been etched around his eyes had smoothed over, the moonlight softening his features. The darkness brought out their natural glow, a way they could see in the dark easier. Even with the light glow, Steve could still see the dark circle starting to form under his eyes, knowing he probably sported his own. He glanced back over to the drop-off, the full moon illuminating the reef, the shallow sparkling blue waters tempting them both.

A playful smirk spread on Steve’s face. Bucky was so intent on swimming towards the reef, he didn’t see Steve duck low and playfully rammed his shoulder into Bucky’s side. Bucky let out an unattractive squawk, the force enough to send him flying off course to his left with a fail. Steve barked out a laugh, smirking widely at taking his mate by surprise. Bucky flipped around to gawk at Steve, pushing back his brown locks that swirled in front of his face. Steve had already spun to darted off to the reef, laughing as he went.

“Punk!” Bucky shouted after him, his own laugh slipping from his mouth. He began to chase after Steve, intent on retaliating for his sudden playful behavior, but something stopped him short. If he had hair on his arms, he was sure they would stand on end. His teeth felt on edge and he hissed low. Glowing blue eyes dart up to the surface, only an arm’s length away. He saw only the sky above at first, but further to his left, just past the drop off into open waters was the bottom of a small boat. He frowned, wondering why it was there, but more importantly, why was the anchor not cast?

Bucky froze in his place, watching the black bottom of the boat, a feeling of unease washing over him the longer he looked. While it wasn’t unusual to see a boat out so late, his instincts told him this was wrong. This shouldn’t be here.

Steve had stopped his race to the reef, noticing Bucky’s sudden silence. He twisted on to his back, frowning when he saw him stopped just before the reef, fist clenched at his side and glaring at something in front of him. Steve glanced in the direction, spotting something floating above the surface. Slowly, he made his way back to Bucky, his own glowing eyes never leaving the spot on the water.

“Bucky?” He called out softly. Bucky didn’t answer in words, only to hiss low when the boat began to rock gently. Steve swam up beside him, the same unease settling in the pit of his stomach as he grew closer to the boat. “Bucky. We need to leave. Now.”

Bucky didn’t answer. His face twisted in a hint of rage and uncertainty. Steve didn’t think they would be spotted from the boat, but he knew there were advancements in the human world that could pick up their forms. They had to be careful around some boats, having run into enough deep-sea fishermen to know, they could be found if they weren’t careful enough. Steve needed to get Bucky to the reef, to hide. However, Bucky didn’t move even when Steve nudged his cheek with his nose.

A splash caused Steve to jump, pulling away from Bucky’s side, head whipping around to the sound. A dark shape sank from the surface like a rock. The boat above turned its engine the second the object hit the surface and was gone in a matter of seconds, the only indication it was there was the upturned water from its hasty retreat.

Bucky took off towards the object, ignoring Steve’s shouts. He knew it wasn’t a box or trash the person dumbed. He saw the arms and legs and knew it was a human. He didn’t know if they were living or dead, the body sinking without any signs of a struggle. But something in him told him to go save the human, to drag it up to the surface. He dove down into the deeper waters, catching the human, a woman around the waist. Quickly pressing his fingers to her neck, he felt a flutter of a pulse and that was all he need to swim to the surface. Steve was right there, his lips pulled into a tight line as he followed.

When he broke the surface, Bucky waited to hear her take in the air, but she was silent. Tilting his ear to his lips, he frowned when he heard her faint breathing, struggling to inhale with the water in her lungs.

“Shit.” Steve popped up above the surface beside him, eyes darting around to see if there was anyone in sight. The woman was thrust into his arms, protesting when Bucky made him hold her tight.

“Wha- Bucky?!” His objection was cut off short at his mate’s scowl. Bucky leaned down, starting CPR on the woman. He didn’t think, didn’t hesitate to resuscitate her. The pull in him was telling him to, that she needed to be saved. He never argued with it before and wasn’t going to stop now. As much as he needed to lay her down, there wasn’t a shore nearby, so he had to make do. Bending down he began repeating the same process he had seen several lifeguards performing on humans over the years.

“Come on, come on.” He pleaded, pulling away from her lips to compress his palms as best he could against her chest. When there was no changed he went back to pinch her nose and slant his mouth over her own. After what felt like ages, the woman coughed up the water trapped in her lungs. Her eyes flew open as she gasped, sucking in her precious air. Bucky yanked his head back just in time to see her eyes roll back into her head, and then slump into Steve’s arm. Steve quickly put his finger against her neck, finding her pulse beating strong under his fingertips.

“She’s alive, Buck.” He could see the panic in Bucky’s eyes when she fell limp in his arms. Balancing her as best he could in her arms above the water, Steve reached over to give Bucky a reassuring squeeze of his arm. “You got her in time.”

Bucky heard Steve murmured, but his eyes never left the woman’s face. He took in her features, sucking in a breath in awe. She was gorgeous, he thought. Looking her over, a comforting warmth spread in his stomach to his chest. She wasn’t a local, that much he was sure. Dressed in a tank and shorts, she looked underdressed for a late night out on a boat. A glint in the water caught his attention, a large stone on her left finger with a gold band. Pulling her hand out of the water, he looked over the jewelry, frowning. It was a fake, a large disappointing phony diamond. He didn’t even have to look over the gold to know that was fake too. Lowering her arm back to the water, he slowly moved closer, a finger skimming down her cheek. She didn’t even flinch at his feather-light touch, not even a twitch she felt it. His brows furrowed, and he looked up at Steve, who noticed too.

“Somethings not right.” Steve nodded in agreement, shifting her slight against him. Her head rolled to rest in the crook of Steve’s neck, exposing her shoulder through her soaked shirt. Despite the darkness, the moonlight shone brightly enough to show expose dark forming bruises on her shoulders. They looked fresh, barely there, but finger indentations were clearly visible on her skin. He traced the skin, brows furrowing in concentration.

Who was this woman? Did she fall over the edge, or worse, was she tossed overboard? That brought up the question if the person on the boat even knew, or if it was intentional. The boats quick retreat threw up huge red flags for Bucky, and he doubted that any of this was accidental. There was so much Bucky and Steve wanted answers, but until she woke, they’d never have them.

The sound of water disturbed behind them caused Bucky to jump, his teeth bared. He spun around hissing loudly, blocking Steve and the woman from the intruder.

“Whoa. Hello to you too.” A familiar voice chuckled in amusement at his greeting. Relief flooded Bucky, relaxing at the sound. Natasha swam closer, a smirk on her lips. She looked over Bucky before glancing over his shoulder at Steve. “Hey, Stevie.”

The man gave her a crooked grin, awkwardly waving with his free hand. His shift caused the woman to slip in his grip. He cursed and readjusted her, giving Bucky a panicked look. Natasha’s attention was immediately on the woman in his arms, her brows shooting up at the sight. She began to swim closer, but Bucky stopped her short.

“Who do you have there?” Natasha asked, looking between him and the woman. She noticed how the woman was limp on Steve’s arm, and just like the two, something didn’t settle right in her stomach. “Barnes. Who is she?”

Bucky let out a troubled sigh, running his hand down his face in exasperation. He wishes he had the answer to the question.

“I-We don’t know, exactly.”

“Okay.” Natasha drawled. “Where did you find her?”

“Here.” Natasha glowered at him. She wasn’t appreciating his short answers.

“Bucky. Answer the damn questions.”

“I’m telling you the truth! We have no idea who she is! All we know is that when we got to the drop-off, there was a boat. The boat didn’t have its anchor cast, and something wasn’t sitting right with me. Next thing I knew she was in the water and the boat took off.” He let out a distressed breath, turning back to gaze at the still unconscious woman.

Natasha considered his words, observing the mysterious woman’s features. He was right about the alarm bells, she heard them to when she looked at the woman. Something happened, something bad, and she knew putting her back on the sand wouldn’t be the best course of action. Natasha was quiet for a moment before she let out a sigh.

“Come with me.” She jerked her chin over her shoulder. “There’s a deserted island with a cove nearby we can take her to until we figure things out.”

Bucky blinked in surprise, glancing back at Steve. He shrugged. There wasn’t much they could do right now, especially while she was unconscious. Bucky gently took the woman from Steve’s arms, draping her over his broad back. Nodding to Natasha they followed closely behind as she led them into the reef. The two men looked at each other, neither having to say a word to know what the other thought. The tug they both felt was still there, pulling them to the woman draped on Bucky’s back. Whatever she went through, whatever she was going through, they weren’t going to let her slip away until they figured out what it was that was calling them to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes don't update here, so if you ever want to see if I've posted, you can check out my tumblr page with the same user name!


	3. Chapter 2

_There was a buzz that rung through Y/N’s body, and she couldn’t tell it was the alcohol in her bloodstream or from the heavy stares from the incredibly handsome man from across the room. She had been nursing on her margarita, courtesy of her friend as an apology, her own eyes darting between him and the lip of the glass. It was supposed to be a girl’s night out, just her and her best friend spending time together._

_Y/N hadn’t seen her in weeks and was excited to see her again. However, when she entered the bar two minutes to their meet up time, her friend was cozying up with a man in a booth. Y/N knew from the apologetic look in her friend’s eye, and the quick wave to the bartender that this night was not going to go as planned. Sure enough, her favorite margarita was set in front of her, and an apologetic text sent as her friend walked out the door, arm and arm with the man. Y/N decided to sit and wallow in her self-pity while enjoying the drink before heading back to spend a night alone at home. Twenty minutes later, another was set in front of her on a fresh napkin._

_“Oh, I didn’t order a new one.” The bartender smiled, tilting his chin over his shoulder the man across the bar._

_“He figured you needed a refill.”_

_Y/N’s eye’s flitted over to the man who grinned widely at her. She grinned sheepishly, nodding thanks before turning back to chew on the new straw. He didn’t make a move, waiting until she had finished half the drink. A smirk caused the corner of his lip to turn up before he knocked back the rest of his drink and stood. His eyes never left hers as he made his way through the crowd with ease. Y/N quickly turned back to her drink, her cheeks heating up and her heart pounding in her chest. She normally never accepted any sort of advancements of strange men in bars, but something about this man was different. She didn’t know why, but there was something telling her to talk to him, to give him a chance. He didn’t look at her like she was a piece of meat like other man had before. She didn’t have time to think rationally, the man already slipping into the empty seat beside her._

_“Hey there.” A shiver went up her spine at his voice, low and husky. Turning to the man, she flushed at his appearance, her mouth suddenly dry. She thought he was handsome from afar, he was absolutely stunning up close. She blinked in shock, wondering why he decided to spare her a second glance.  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Y/N returned his smile._

_“Hi.” The man grinned at her squeak, chuckling low. He leaned in close, grinning from ear to ear as he spoke low honeyed words in her ear. She didn’t remember what he said to make her laugh or to cause her heart to flutter, but she knew by the of the night she didn’t want to let this one slip through her fingers._

_His name was Taylor Hoffman, a system engineer who just moved to the city for a new job. He had no friends and went to the bar after his first day on the job to celebrate. That’s when he saw her sitting alone in the corner of the bar looking defeated as she sucked down what was left of her drink._

_“I just couldn’t let you sit all alone, looking so sad.”_

_It didn’t take him long to worm his way into her heart, both expressing their desires of being married as soon as they could. He was kind and gentle with her, encouraging her to continue her path as a teacher, even telling her to apply for the teaching position at a school in a suburb outside of the city. They looked at homes together, him wanting a big backyard and several rooms. He hinted at getting a dog, or a cat if she so desired. She was head over heels in love, and it seemed he was too. It was only six months into their relationship that he dropped onto his knee in the middle of the park, asking her to be his wife. She, of course, said yes._

_Planning was simpler than she thought. Y/N had no family members she needed to invite, being an only child of only child’s herself. Her parents and grandparents had already passed on, leaving her alone in the world. Taylor never talked about his family, finding whatever happened in his past too difficult to talk about. She never pushed, never asked. Instead, he just wanted a simple ceremony, just a few friends from their work and a small reception afterword’s. He had passed the idea of just going to the courthouse, but Y/N dug her heels in. She might not need a fancy wedding, but she had dreamed of one since she was a little girl, and nothing was going to stop her from having one. Taylor relented and promised she could have whatever she wanted. Of course, he knew she’d be overwhelmed by the end of it, even as simple as the planning might be. If she had known this was who he was, Y/N was certain she would have never accepted the drink in the first place. How could she be so naïve, how did she miss the signs?_

* * *

Warmth woke her slowly, her brain fuzzy as she tried to put things together. Bits a piece of the night before came back to her, but the holes were too large. She couldn’t remember everything, but she did remember enough. Slowly, she came back to the real world, a sob slipping from her mouth. She didn’t even care where she was, or how she was still alive. It hit her hard, slamming into her chest, her heart-shattering in a million pieces. There was no way, it couldn’t be true. Yet she knew it was. The man she was seconds away from giving the rest of her life to, threw her overboard. He tried to kill her. He would have, he should have. So why was she alive now?

Y/N sucked in a shuddering breath and took a second to listen to the world around her. The gentle waves crashing on the shore were close, she could feel the spray of the ocean mist on her face. She shifted against the ground, the sand warm against her skin. She frowned, clenching her eyes tighter. Maybe if she wished hard enough, this would all be one crazy dream and she’d wake in the safety of her hotel room back on the island. No matter how much she wished, she knew it wouldn’t be.  Groaning, she opened her eyelids, squinting at the blue sky above her. Seagulls circled above, the occasional cloud passing in her line of sight.

Tall stone cliffs surrounded her, covered in overgrowth. Palms trees hung over the edge, giving the small cove shade from the harsh sun. The rocks enclosed the small sandy beach, only a small sliver of an opening in the open waters giving her a hint of how she might have washed ashore. It was a narrow entrance, seeming the only. How did she manage to slip through and wash ashore?  Thinking that couldn’t be how she came to be on the island, Y/N turned back to the land behind her.

Slowly pushing up on shaky feet, Y/N looked around the rock cliff, searching for a way out. But with one quick sweep of the small enclosed area, her stomach dropped to her feet. There was none. The vines were too short, the palm trees just out of reach. The only way in and seemed to be the opening in the water.

“Oh good. You’re awake.”

Y/N gasped, spinning around the water behind her. A woman floated in the waves, her red hair blinding in the sun. She seemed comfortable in the deeper water, her arms barely moving to tread above the water. Y/N’s brows furrowed, noticing the woman’s hair was long enough to cover her chest, and oddly she didn’t spot a swimsuit on the woman. The woman watched Y/N with calculative eyes, flicking up and down Y/N’s body as if sizing her up.

“I’ll go tell them you’re alive.” Without any other explanation, the woman sunk into the water, disappearing from sight. The water was too deep, the woman was too far from the shore to see where she went. When she didn’t return, Y/N attentively stepped towards the waves.  She searched the water line, eyeing the entrance for in case the woman resurface. She had to breath at some point, right? However, she never did, and it wasn’t until what felt like hours later that the something did break the surface.

Two men rose, one with short blond hair, while the other had shoulder length dark hair that clung to his face. Y/N’s mouth fell open, stunned. She hadn’t the slightest clue who these men were, but they were gorgeous. Strong jaws and wide shoulder pushed out of the water, the water running down their sculpted chests and muscles. While she stood and gaped, their eyes swept over the small beach until it landed on Y/N, both smiling widely at the sight of her standing in shock. The brunette pushed the hair from his face as he swam forward, never letting his stares up.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” His voice sent a shiver down Y/N’s spine, her mouth drying at his low timber. The blonde moved behind him, slower with a hint of caution on his face. Her gaze flicked from the brunette to the blonde, his shoulder relaxing at her wide-eyed stare. The brunette stopped just before the shallows, the smile slipping from her face at her silence. “You okay?”

“Uh.” Y/N blinked, shaking her head from her stupor. “I- yeah. I-yeah.”

The two men exchanged a look of concern before turning back to Y/N.

“You look like you been crying.” The blonde spoke softly, the corners of his lips pulling down into a frown.

“Oh, no. I wasn’t-.” Y/N tried to keep up her appearance, but the weight of the night before came crashing down on her once again. Her gaze fell from the men, staring blankly at the water before her. The men noticed her sudden change, frantically looking at themselves before back to Y/N.

“Hey, no it’s okay.” The brunette reached a handout, hesitating from swimming forward. Something seemed to keep him from stepping on shore. He still didn’t stop trying from soothing her, his voice low and warm.

Y/N harshly bit her lip, her knees shaking. Here she was, a complete stranger seconds away from having a mental break down in front of them, and they were trying to assure her everything was going to okay. Yet she knew it wouldn’t be. Nothing would be okay after what happened to her. Letting out a sob, Y/N’s knees gave out and she collapsed in the sand, hugging her body tight.

The brunette shot a distressed look at the blonde, who was equally upset at her anguish. Once again, the pull they felt from earlier was back, this time harshly tugging them towards her. It was all but screaming at the two of them to do something, anything for the woman. The blonde’s eyes never left her, a pained whine getting stuck in the back of his throat when she shrank further in herself. Pushing through the water, he brushed past the brunette and began to pull himself up the shore.

Y/N clutched her head in her hands, sobs wracking through her chest. She couldn’t breathe, tears were streaming down her face through her broken sobs. She didn’t care she was losing it in front of strangers, stranded on an island. She didn’t care anymore. What she thought was true, everything she had believed was a lie.

A gentle hand cupped her cheek, tilting her head up. Through her tears, she saw the blonde leaned in and rested his forehead against her own, his brilliant blue eyes looking down at her with worry. She doesn’t know what it was that pulled her to lean into his bare chest, but she gave in. He made no attempts to push her way, instead pulled her into his lap and cradled her close.

“It’s okay.” He murmured into her ear, fingers carding in through her hair. There was a sound of something dragging in the sand through water beside them, and her legs were thrown over a waist. Another set of hands began to try and soothe her, rubbing the bare skin of her shins gently.

“Doll, hey breathe.” The second voice spoke. Y/N tried, she really did. But she was struggling to catch her breath, her chest tightening with each sob, violently shaking in his grip. Neither man said much else, occasionally uttering soft words of reassurance as they rubber circles to her skin and hair. Gradually, she felt herself relax, pulling herself together the best she could, her brain processing the past five minutes. Mortification set in when she realized she practically sobbed like a baby in the arms of these two gorgeous men. Pushing off the blonde’s chest, an apology slipping from her lips.

“Oh god, I’m so so sorry.” She whimpered, her lower chin quivering.

“Wait.” He interrupted with a firm tone, “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Yeah, but I mean. You didn’t ask to get snotted on-.” He chuckled, tilting her face towards his.

“It’s okay. More importantly, you’re okay.” His voice was reassuring, the low timber gently vibrating through his chest into hers as he spoke. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his, losing herself in the bright blue. It had an instant effect on her, like a warm blanket wrapped around her body and she melted into his side. “You’re safe now.”

The other man scooted closer, pressing his shoulder against the blonde’s leaning his face into her line of sight. He had a small crooked grin on his face, the brown hair still slightly damp framing his face. Y/N returned his smile, a little uncertain despite their words.

“Ah, there’s that beautiful smile we knew you’d have.” Y/N blushed at his compliment, burying her head into the man’s neck. His chuckle only caused her face to burn brighter.

“Buck, leave her be.” The blonde scolded lightly, shaking his head. The brunette, Bucky grinned at the blonde and rolled his eyes with a quick nudge against the other’s shoulder. The blonde huffed, retaliating with a jab to the ribs.

“Oh please. You and I both were thinking the same thing.” Y/N titled her head up enough to catch the flush on the blonde’s face, who sputtered an excuse. She giggled against his skin, and the two turned back to the woman in her arms. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” Y/N hummed, looking between the two’s lopsided grin. She certain she looked like an absolute hot mess, she surely smelled like wet dog and knew her breath smelled awful. Yet the two men looked down at her like she hung the moon. A pang went through her chest, the look familiar. Almost familiar. Bucky frowned, seeing the smile slip from her face. Instead of focusing on whatever dark road her mind went, he decided to draw her back to the present.

“Okay doll. Before we go any further, what’s your name?” He leaned forward, blinking down at her with puppy eyes. She giggled at the sight.

“Y/N.”

A grin spread across his face, tilting his chin to the still blushing blond.

“I’m Bucky, and this is my m-Steve. This is Steve.” He seemed to fumble, catching himself mid-word. Steve shot him a look out of the corner of his eyes before turning back to Y/N with feigned innocence. She didn’t miss the exchange and wasn’t certain what to make of it. Bucky was quick to pull attention away from his slip, laughing at her pout.

“Well Y/N I wish we could have met under better terms, but I’m glad we did.” He chuckled, reaching a hand up to brush against her cheek. She hummed softly, closing her eye to lean against his hand. She paused at his touch, his fingers strangely cold for being out in the sun and sand. She opened her eyes, looking over at his arm. She followed the tan skin, stopping at the sight of dark blue on his for arms. Sparkling brightly in the sun was what she thought looked similar to fish scales. That couldn’t be right though, could it? Hesitantly reaching up, she touched his skin with shaking fingers. Bucky sucked in a startled breath, yanking his arm out of her sight. But she was too quick.

Her fingernails dug into his skin, sharply tugging it back into her line of sight. Her heart began to beat widely in her chest, denial set in. It had to be a tattoo, she reasoned. A highly realistic intricate tattoo. She looked back up his arm, over his chest and stopped short at his neck. Under his jaw were three strange thin black lines on either side. More tattoos, she thought.

“Y/N?” Steve breathed, feeling her shift uncomfortably in his lap. He and Bucky both looked at the other with a strange expression. Bucky unconsciously glanced at his fins, eyes darting quickly but not quick enough for Y/N to miss. She turned her head before either could stop her, and her entire body froze.

Curled in the current, were two sets of long fish tails floated under the gentle waves, their caudal fins looking straight from a fantasy novel. Steve’s was a beautiful shade of blue, nearly as blue as the water of the cove with a hint of black on the edges. Bucky’s, a deeper blue with a hint of silver in the scales. Both tails were long, the muscles bunching underneath the scales as it rode the waves. She would have marveled at their beauty, probably even would have reached out to touch the two tails. She could tell they weren’t silicon, there was no way it could bunch and move the way they did under her. It was like she really had stepped into a childhood fantasy, sitting in the laps of two very real mermaids.

Nope, she tried to reason as the blood rushed from her head, this wasn’t real. She was really dead, and this was the afterlife. Slowly, she tore her gaze from the tails and once again she saw the world darken around the edges. The last thing she remembers seeing was Bucky’s worried face and once more, darkness.


	4. Chapter 3

“Oh, gods! What do we do?!” Bucky panicked, catching the woman against his chest. She took one look at their tails and dropped like a sack of rocks. It wasn’t something either of the two was prepared for. When her eyes rolled back into her head, Bucky thought the worst.  

“I don’t know! I’ve never- We’ve never shown ourselves to humans before! I didn’t think she’d react like this!” Steve replied his tone an octave higher in panic. Cautiously, he reached forward and place a finger against his neck, searching for a pulse.

“What are you doing?” Bucky hissed, tightening his grip on Y/N’s body. Steve ignored him with a glare, sighing in relief at the soft flutter under his fingertips. She was alive, just unconscious.

“I was making sure she was still alive, Bucky.”

“What? Did you think she’d have died from shock?” Bucky asked incredulously. “She was thrown off the side of a boat in the middle of the ocean!”

“I don’t know other people’s stress thresholds!”

“She fainted! Not had a heart attack!”

“Well, I just wanted to make sure-!”

“Ahem.” The two froze, Bucky clutching Y/N against his chest while Steve was inches from his face. Slowly, they turned to the open water.  Natasha trod the surface with a smirk, a smirk that grew at the red that spread on both mermen’s’ faces. She had a knack for sneaking up on the two men and always catching them off guard.  

“As much as I love seeing you two quarrel like the old mated pair you are, have either of you thought about what you’re going to do about her?” She asked with a head tilt in Y/N’s direction. Steve pulled away, his gaze cast down to Y/N. Bucky held her tighter, uncertainty bubbling up inside him.

“I… We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Bucky admitted softly. Neither had really thought that far ahead, both too concerned on her wellbeing now and not the long term. They didn’t even know what happened, they only could make a guess as to what took place on that boat. From her tears, they knew it wasn’t good.  

“Well. I’m not an expert on humans, but you know she can’t stay here.” Natasha said, swimming closer to the shore. She didn’t want to move in closer, she had no idea who this woman was, but she didn’t feel like shouting across the water.

“Yes, she can,” Bucky replied with a frown. Natasha rolled her eyes.

“No, you can’t. What about food, or fresh water? You know she can’t survive without that. What about shelter?” Bucky’s mouth popped open. He hadn’t thought about that. “She needs to be with her own kind, Bucky.”

Both men visibly deflated in front of Natasha, pulling her heartstrings. She had always had a soft spot for these two. They had been her pod mates when they were young, her best friends even when she found her mate. She knew them inside and out, giving her insight on what the two were thinking right now. She couldn’t believe it at first. She stayed behind in the water watching the two dragged the unconscious woman’s body up the shore, seeing how they both cradled her in their arms. When they laid her on the sand, both stayed beside her, curling up around her protectively with their fins. They acted like she was a part of their pod, part of their family, and yet they knew nothing of her. Natasha wasn’t blind, nor was she judgmental. It would take a while for her to get used to the idea, but she knew they found the other piece that had been missing in their lives. Even if the men hadn’t realized that’s who Y/N was to them, Natasha saw it just from the way they were both holding her now.  

The two didn’t respond, looking down at her with a matching gloomy expression. They hadn’t thought about that, they were both so wrapped up in the feeling of completeness when they were with her. They forgot she was human.

“However,” Their heads snapped up when Natasha began. “I think I might have somewhere you can take her to keep her safe for a while. I have to check with him and see if it’s okay though.”

Bucky glanced off to Steve, who was pushing a stray hair from Y/N’s face.

“Who?”

“I have a friend, who might kill me, but he owes me one.” Natasha sighed, letting the waves pull her closer to the shore. “You remember when Clint and I first settled here? There was that awful storm and we were both separated. I was beside myself, circling the reef trying to find him. A boat came up out of nowhere, and I thought that was the end of it. I didn’t have time to hide, I had gone up to the surface to look over to see if he washed ashore.  The man saw me. Instead of trying to capture me, he asked if I was Nat and had a mate named Clint.” Steve frowned, completely unaware what happened to Natasha and her mate. “Apparently, Clint was hit with a floating log in the current and his unconscious body washed ashore. The man lived on the isolated island and found him the next day when he went to clean. He had been taking care of him, and Clint asked him to find me.

Anyways, the man lives alone on an island and had told both Clint and I about his reef he keeps protected. Which is where I would have taken the both of you last night if it wasn’t for our detour. I don’t know if he’ll like having someone else there, he’s pretty much a recluse with the capital R, but I’m sure I can work him. He has a soft spot for people in trouble.”

Bucky frowned, not sure he was willing to take her to a strange man, away from their side. Natasha caught his grip tightening and had to repress her eye roll. Steve, however, saw the logic, knowing that neither of them could really provide for her with her here out in the open.

“He has a small cabin beside the waters and lives mostly on his boat. I doubt he’ll have a problem. Give me an hour or so, and I’ll let you know what he says.”

“Thanks, Nat.” Steve smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling around the corners of his eyes. Bucky huffed beside him, grunting when Steve elbowed him in his side. Grumbling under his breath, he nodded to Natasha. Giving in to the impulse, she rolled her eyes and turned to dive back into the water without another word.

Letting out a sigh, Steve turned back to Y/N pausing to take in how she fit into Bucky’s arms. He loved his mate, he knew he did with every fiber of his being. However, there was always something missing. Seeing the two of them beside him, Y/N’s head cradled safely under Bucky’s chin, he felt that hole filling itself. When she broke down into tears, his heart cracked in his chest He didn’t care if she knew what they were when he crawled up the sands. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be alright.  

“Buck…”

“I know, babe. I feel it too.” Bucky whispered, gently rubbing the pads of his thumbs against her cheek. Natasha was right. Y/N couldn’t stay here, open and unprotected. It was unsettling knowing she would be up on shore away from their reach, but what really upset him was something else Natasha said.  _She needs to be with her own people._  They barely knew her, only just hearing her voice for the first time. But the thought of her leaving them was like ripping a chunk of his heart out. Bucky didn’t want to think of how they’d have to say goodbye at some point. It was too much to bear.

“Hey.” Steve noticed how his mate was pulling in on himself, he could see where his thoughts were going. Bucky looked up at him through his lashes, feeling a little ashamed how attached he had already become. “I know. It’s a lot right now. We’ll get there when we get there. For now, let’s just focus on getting her to a safe place, and figuring out what went wrong.”

Bucky sighed and nodded. They looked back down to Y/N’s still body in silence, watching her rhythmic breathing. Once again, they had to wait for her to wake and hope for the best.


	5. Chapter 4

Y/N groaned, shifting on the comfortable bed she was laying on. Her head was throbbing, but she couldn’t remember what caused it. Something gently pulled at her hair, tucking it behind her ear before trailing a feather-light touch along her cheek. She hummed at the delicate touch, her skin twitching beneath the warmth. The bed beneath her shook softly in response, a low baritone vibrating against her chest. She froze, heart suddenly in her throat. The touch came back, tracing along her cheekbones, nose and along her lips. A second equally tender touch joined the first, tracing down her arm and along her palm. She jerked at the dual touch, her mind racing to catch up. First, she quickly realized this wasn’t a bed, and the second, there were flashes of blue and silver, mixed with dark brown and blonde in her mind. And then she saw the fish fins.

Oh, right. She was thrown overboard by her fiancé- ex she supposed, and save by two incredibly handsome mermen, who were both currently mapping out her skin. Her breath hitched, the second hand delicately running his finger against her own. Her breathing hitched, and it was like something was wrapped around her chest, squeezing the breath from her.

“It’s okay.” One of the men,  _Bucky,_  soothed, his chest rumbling against her side. He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back to rest under his chin. Y/N’s eyelids cracked open, lashes fluttering against his cool skin. “You’re okay.”

She turned as best she could in his lax grip. Her legs were thrown across Steve’s lap, his hips pressed tightly against Bucky’s watching her with a worried look. Bucky’s large arms were wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to his chest. She caught the same flash of blue against his skin. Timidly, she reached out a hand and traced along the scales. She marveled at how they seemingly melting straight into his skin, the light showing off the black edges fading into his blue scales. They were cool and soft to the touch, not at all slimy or sharp as she thought it would be. Realization slid into place like a piece of a puzzle, and memories flashed back into her mind.

“Holy shit!” She cried, wrenching out of Bucky’s hold as she sat up straight. The two jumped, both sitting taller in the sand. “You’re fucking mermaids!”

“Men.” Bucky huffed. Y/N blinked, her eyes wide looking up at him.

“What?”

“Mermen.” He repeated, a smile playing at the edge of his lips. “We’re mermen. Nat’s a mermaid.”

“Really? That’s what you’re focusing on?” Steve grunted dryly. Bucky’s head snapped up to glare at Steve, his mouth pulling into a thin line. “Of all things. Gender?”

“Yes, really.” He snapped in reply. “I want to make sure she’s not misconstruing our genders. We’re males, she’s female.”

“Well, what if I didn’t want to be a male? Or maybe Nat’s really a male. Why does it matter?” Steve leaned closer, narrowing his gaze at Bucky. Bucky’s chest rumbled as he too leaned forward. Y/N mouth fell open, watching in mild amusement as the two argued, her head volleying back and forth between them.

“Okay, okay, okay.” She interjected, waving her hands to divert them from arguing further. The two froze, their cheeks darkening as they realized they were once again arguing over something ridiculous. The turned back down to Y/N, who was trying her best not to burst into a fit of giggles. “I’m sorry. Bucky, you’re right. Mer-Men. My bad. Gender aside, I still can’t believe it.”

Y/N stopped, staring intently at Bucky’s shoulder for several quiet moments, her sudden silence concerning the two. Before they could ask if she all right, it was like a switch flipped on and her head snapped to Steve. He froze under her wide-eyed wild stare, his own going wide with a hint of fear.

“You’re real!” She cried, climbing off Bucky’s lap, who grunted when she elbowed his side as she did, and over to Steve. She took hold of his face, squishing his cheeks in an iron grip. “How the hell are you real?!”

“I-I don’t know?” Steve spoke as best he could through his pressed lips. “Can you let go of my face?”

Sheepishly, she grinned and let his face go. “Sorry.”

“It’s’kay.” He said with a grin, rolling his jaw. Y/N’s face heated up, ducking her chin down. She turned to stare at her hands, catching sight of their two tails she was practically straddling. Unconsciously she reached out to touch then scales. Her fingers had just begun to brush against Bucky’s blue scales, the muscles bunching under the featherlight touch, and she recoiled in panic. It dawned on her that this was the equivalent to her legs, and she was just about to feel him up

“I’m so sorry!” She squeaked, turning her head up to apologize to Bucky. Her breath caught at this sight of his carefree crooked grin. He thought her reaction was adorable, her enthusiasm the happiest he’d seen her. He didn’t seem to mind her behavior, but it still didn’t help her feel better about nearly rubbing his tail. Her face burned with embarrassment, wringing her hands in front of her chest.

“It’s okay.” He encouraged. “You can touch. I don’t mind and neither does Steve.”

Y/N glanced over at Steve, who wore a similar grin. He nodded, a mischievous glint in his bright blue eyes. Cold beads of water pelted her side, a squeal erupting from her mouth at the temperature change. Both mermen laughed, Steve flicking his fin back into the water. He flipped more water towards her direction, the grin spreading wider when she whined for him to stop.

“That’s payback for squeezing my face.” Steve snickered. Bucky scoffed and rolled his eyes at Steve. Y/N giggled, shaking her head before twisting around to trace a finger down both their tails. She gasped, watching the way they shifted under her fingers, how cool and dry they felt despite laying in the sun. She spun around again, catching the two off guard yet again.

“Shouldn’t you be in the water?” She was curious and slightly concerned if they were anything like fishes. If they were, then how could they both be out of the water for so long?

“Only on Tuesdays.” Bucky shrugged. She made a face, earning another chuckle from the both of them.

“You know what I mean.” She pouted. He let out a loud laugh, his face breaking out into a wide lopsided smile. Steve exhaled loudly with mock disdain, crossing his large arms against his chest.

“As long as we keep our tails and fins wet, we’ll be fine.” He answered with a soft smile. She turned to look at their fins, both long enough to lay in the surf and waves, occasionally knocked around by a wave. Her brows knitted in confusion.

“But… how can you breathe out of water?” She turned back to Steve. He shrugged, tilting his head back to show off a pair of three thin black lines under his jawline. Bucky tilted his head to the opposite, showing off his own pair. She wanted to reach out to touch the thin lines, she would have missed them if they didn’t point it out to her. It could almost pass off as a tattoo, but she knew they weren’t that.

“We have gills like fish to help us breathe underwater, but when we go up the surface they’ll close up and we can breathe with lungs,” Steve explained. “Don’t know why we can, we just always have.”

“That’s so cool.” Y/N spoke in awe, giving in to her urge to reach up and touch the skin on Steve’s neck. He flinched at her touch, a shiver going up his spine as gasped. Immediately, Y/N was recoiling and apologizing, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

“It’s okay, just sensitive,” Steve reassured, his own cheeks turning a shade of pink. His eyes darted over to Bucky, his blush deepening at the intense look in his eyes. The corners of his lips we turned up in a barely there smirk, gone in a flash before Y/N could see. Steve cleared his throat, ripping his gaze away. He wasn’t going to tell her just yet what that really meant, he knew she didn’t know what that soft touch meant. She didn’t mean it.

Y/N, fortunately, missed the exchange, too focused on her hands in her lap as she processed everything that happened. She was sitting quite literally on two creatures that until earlier, she had no idea existed. They were incredibly handsome, sweet and so far, helped her forget about what happened the night before. Until her eyes settled on the giant sparkling ring on her finger, taunting her. It all crashed into her at once and ripped her open without pause. Her upper lip began to quiver, and a violent sob tore through her chest. Two sets of hands reached out to pull her back into their waiting arms, petting her skin and carding through her hair.

“Hey, no it’s okay. Don’t cry.” Steve whispered into her ear, trying to soothe her as best he could. Bucky took up rubbing her back, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. She shook against the two, her sobs heartbreaking. They didn’t say much else, holding her close while she cried. Then she’d realize it was the second time in less than 24 hours that she was ugly crying in the arms of two strange men and cried even harder.  It wasn’t until she felt she cried herself dry was she able to stop. Sniffing loudly, she twisted around to bury her neck in the crook of Bucky’s neck.

“It’s okay.” He murmured, tightening his hold on her body. Steve moved as close as he could, nuzzling his head into her hair. He wrapped an arm around her waist, whispering his own words of encouragement. Neither let go until she stopped shaking, and even then held fast until her breathing had slowed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Steve asked gently, pulling back enough to look at the side of her face. Numbly, Y/N shook her head. She tilted her head to look up at Steve through her lashes, his heart breaking at her tear stained cheeks. Gently rubbing her skin with his thumb, he whipped the drying tears, nodding understandably. “That’s fine. As long as you know, you’re safe now.”

Bucky’s watched the two interact, his heart clenching in his chest. Seeing Steve so gentle with Y/N did something to him, his heartbeat fluttering at the tenderness in Steve’s touch. Her cries hurt him to hear, wanting nothing more than to help take away all her pains. He wished he could snap his fingers and make it all right. Sadly, life wasn’t that easy.

Y/N sat up, rubbing her red eyes with the heel of her palm. The two didn’t say thing else, just sat still with their arms still securely around her waist and hips. She exhaled a shaky breath, a small timid smile spreading on her face.

“Thank you.” She mumbled sheepishly. Steve cocked his head to the side.

“What for?”

“For being so patient and kind to me. I’m sorry I’m such a mess.” She said, sniffing once again. Steve let out a laugh of disbelief, gently taking her face in his hands.

“Hey. Look at me.” He urged, waiting until she begrudgingly locked eyes with him. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You clearly had something happen to you, and you have every right to be upset. So please, don’t apologize.”

She sighed, nodding in his hold. She opened her mouth to respond when a frighteningly loud, angry growl scared ripped through the air. Steve blinked in shock, glancing down at her stomach before looking back up. Bucky couldn’t help himself and let out a howl of laughter.

“Oh my gods!” He doubled over, resting his forehead on her shoulder. “Was that your stomach?”

Y/N’s face felt like it was on fire, sputtering in embarrassment. Steve snorted, biting his tongue.

“Shut up.” She grumbled. “I haven’t eaten all day.”

The two tried to stifle their laughter as best they could, it was true. She huffed, smacking them both on the chest.

“Quit it.” She whined. Bucky swallowed his laughter, his lip quivering from the strain.

“I’m sorry, doll. It just was a little frightening.” He looked her up and down, his eyes shining with uncontrolled amusement. “I never would have thought something that terrifying could come out of someone like you.”

She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Before she could say much else, there was throat clearing from the water. The three on the shore turned to open water. Natasha floated above the surface, a strange look on her face as she watched the three. Both Steve and Bucky perked up, sitting up at the sight of her.

“Nat!” Bucky grinned, waving at the redhead. She snorted but waved back.

“So?” Steve questioned. “What he say?”

Y/N frowned. “What’d who say?”

“He said it was fine. Wasn’t too happy about it, but I told him what you told me.” Natasha ignored Y/N’s question, choosing to address Steve. Y/N made a noise of irritation, shifting in Bucky’s lap.

“Told him what?”

“So, he’ll let her stay for a while?” Bucky asked hopefully. Once again, ignoring Y/N. Natasha nodded.

“Yeah, but he wants you to know it’s not permanent. He’s bringing his boat so we don’t have to swim there with her.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Hello!” Y/N shouted from frustration. The three jumped at her outburst. “Will someone tell me what’s going on!”

Bucky smoothed a hand down her hair, his brows shooting up to his hairline. “Hey, no need to shout. We needed to make sure it was okay before we told you.”

“Told me what?!” She snapped irritably. Steve and Bucky shared a look before Steve turned her face to look at his.

“We figured after… well everything that happened, you wouldn’t want to return to where ever you’ve come from just yet. It’s probably not safe if what happened is what we think happened.” He answered carefully, his eyes watching every twitch and flinch on her face. “We also know you can’t survive out here for long. So, Nat has a friend that owns an island and went to ask him if you can stay until you get your feet back under you.”

Y/N looked out to the water where Natasha was watching her. When they locked eyes, Natasha’s eyes softened, a tiny smile slipping on her face.

“We want you to be safe, but we know you can’t do it here. He helps keep Nat safe, so we figured it would be the best thing for you.” Bucky said gently.

“He has a separate hut,” Natasha added, seeing the concern on flash across her face. “He said it has a clean bed and running water. And it’s right along the shore so you can see these two any time you want.”

Y/N perked up, a little bit of the weight lifted from her shoulders. It was one thing being in the arms of these two mermen but being on shore with a man she never met before unprotected worried her. Knowing she’d have her own room helped soothe her nerves. A low hum came from behind the opening, growing louder as it got closer to the hidden cove. A small boat came through the slim opening at a slow speed. Natasha dove underwater, disappearing for a moment before popping up a safer distance away from the incoming boat.

A man steered the boat and Y/N could make out his stern expression from where she sat. A black eyepatch covered his left eye and a dark well-groomed goatee stood out to Y/N, his serious expression making him look older than she was sure he was. His eyes darted over to Natasha, a hint of a smile flashing on his face before it smoothed over. He stopped the boat just short of the shore, shutting off the engine before leaning against the edge of the small motorboat.

“I hear somebody needs saving?” He raised a brow at the sight on the beach, both Bucky and Steve still holding tightly to Y/N’s waist. She didn’t know what possessed her, but Y/N waved slightly at the man, who cracked a grin at the tiny gesture. Now that the engine was off and safe to swim around, Natasha swam up the side of the boat, grinning at the older man.

“Everyone. This is my friend Nick Fury.”


	6. Chapter 5

Fury wasn’t as bad as she thought he’d be. He just looked scary. He helped her up on to the boat, either oblivious to her discomfort to be on a boat or choose to carefully skim over the topic as he turned the boat on. The haunting nightmare from the night before was still fresh on her mind, her anxiety skyrocketing as she settled on the small seat of the motorboat. Two wet hands touched her forearm, both Bucky and Steve smiling at her in the water.

“We don’t have to go far.” Fury assured her before addressing the two mermen that gripped the small boat. “Think you three can keep up?”

The mers snorted, rolling their eyes at his bold smirk. When he steered them out of the small cove, Y/N was concerned whether they could keep up or not. Once free to the open water, Nick sped up and shot off like a bullet. Y/N squeaked, gripping the side of the boat and the blue of the open water and sky blurred together. She caught in the corner of her eye three dark shapes in the water, staying constant with the boat as it cut through the water. She saw Fury grinning widely at the sight, and he chuckled at her bewildered expression.

“They’re a lot faster than you thought they could be, huh?”  she nodded, and looked back at the water, the dark forms far enough below to miss the blades of the outboard motor, but close enough that she could make out the forms of the Bucky, Steve and a smaller Natasha. They tails cut through the water, moving rapidly to keep up the pace. She couldn’t tell if they were working hard to keep up, but from how smooth and calm they moved underwater, she could only guess this was easy for them.

The island came up over the horizon, small enough it probably wasn’t large enough to register on a map, but big enough to house two bungalows. A large one was settled towards the middle, she could just make out a roof through the thick tree line, and a smaller, newer looking hut was built on the sand and overlooking the water. There were several smaller islands surrounding the larger, almost hiding it from view.  It looked like something she’d see in a vacation catalog, a gasp slipping from her mouth. Fury saw her jaw drop and grinned wide with pride.

“That’s where you’ll stay.” He nodded to the bungalow, steering towards a wooden dock. The three shapes dropped back, slowing as he steered to the right. Her heart was hammering in her chest as he neared land, a lump forming in her throat. She twisted her engagement ring around her finger, gnawing on her lip as her anxiety kicked in. She was so deep in her thoughts, she missed when Fury turned the engine off and tethered the boat to the dock. It wasn’t until a wet hand reached out of the water, taking her quaking one in their cool grip that she snapped out of it. Her head shot up, the boat dipping to the side that Bucky was hanging on to. Fury grunted at the dip, glaring at Bucky, but said nothing choosing to step on to the dock.

“Hey.” Bucky said gently. “It’s okay. Fury wouldn’t hurt you. We’ll be right here if you need us.”

She nodded hesitantly, biting her lower lip as she began to stand on shaking legs. He gave her wrist one gentle squeeze before letting her slip from his grip. Fury led her down the dock and through the white sands to the door of the lone hut. He pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door before unwinding the key from the ring and passed it over to Y/N.

“That’s the only copy. So, don’t lose it.” He said gruffly, swinging open the wooden door. Y/N followed be him into the room, gasping at the interior. A tasteful selection of modern furniture made up the living room and kitchen, white whiles and clean white furniture was laid out in the room. Little bits of nautical themed items were placed throughout, all stylishly done.

“What?” Fury snorted, grinning at the shock on her face. “You don’t think I know how to decorate a room?”

She snapped her mouth shut, face heating up at his giggle.

“It’s alright. I paid somebody.” He snickered, walking into the kitchen to the fridge. “I didn’t know what you’d want, so I had Maria grab anything she’d think you want to eat. If you need anything else, the phone on the wall is connected to the main house. Just let us know.”

“Maria?” Y/N asked, moving to the island in the large kitchen.

“She’s…” He began, pausing as he thought over his words. “Well, let’s leave it at she’s somebody who won’t leave me alone.”

Y/N nodded with a faint smile, turning to the living room. The sofa was placed against the right wall, a small light brown coffee table at the middle. A large TV was mounted on the wall directly adjacent. But what caught her eye was the giant sliding glass doors with the wooden deck. She walked over to the doors, eyeing the lounge chair off to the side, and the ladder that led straight into the water.

“This was going to be Maria’s house, but Natasha told me you might need some space for yourself.” Fury was still in the kitchen, watching Y/N move about the room. She turned, brows furrowed at his word. He pushed off the counter, waving her off before she could argue. “It’s alright. She was living in the main house while this was being built. She even volunteered it herself.”

Y/N sighed, his shoulders dropping. She hated knowing she was putting people out with her problems. There was a splash behind her, causing her to jump and spin around. Bucky and Steve had pulled themselves up on the deck, both watching her intently through the glass with glowing blue eyes. It was as if they could sense her unease and were there in an instant. Fury snorted behind her, leaning against the wall beside a door.

“Come on, let me show you your room.” He opened the door that led to a short hallway. She waved to the two mermen, hesitantly smiling before following Fury down the hall. There were two doors, one at the end of the hall and the second to the right. The left wall was floor to ceiling windows, showing off the ocean and the deck extending along the mirrors and to the second room.

“This is the master suite, and then this is your bathroom. No tub, just a standing shower.” He spoke as he opened the door to the bathroom and then turned to open the door leading to the master suite. Y/N walked passed him into the room, a large bed with clean white sheets. There was a dresser in front it, a door she assumed for the closet to the right, and then once again large sliding glass doors. Natasha leaned against another lounge chair, eating from what looked like an oyster. She turned and waved to Y/N.

“Like I said, if you need anything, you can call the main house.” Fury said. He walked back down the hall, Y/N scampering behind as he left to the living room. “I’m sure you’ll want to eat and change. There should be some clothes for you in the closet.”

“Thank you.” She called out before he could leave. He stopped at the door, his hand on the door handle. Y/N leaned against the island, blown away by how accommodating he was being to a stranger. “You didn’t have to do any of this for me. So, thank you.”

Fury turned, looking her over intently with his good eye. Something behind his expression unsettled her, not in a way she was concerned about. It looked like he knew what happened to her, saw through her and knew all of her fears. Fury sighed and swung the door open.

“Thing is kid, I did.” He didn’t elaborate, shutting the door softly behind him as he left. Y/N let out a breath of air, turning back to the sliding doors. Bucky and Steve were still sitting on the deck, looking out at the open water. It gave her time to look them over without either noticing. Both had broad shoulders with defined muscles. Bucky was leaning back on his hands, showing off his thick arms. From the waist up, she wouldn’t have thought they were mermen. They only indication was the blue tints of their scale on the arms and back.

Both sensed her eyes on them and twisted around. She giggled at their concerned expression and went to slide open the door. She crouched beside them, resting a hand on Bucky’s when he reached out to touch her thigh.

“I’m going to make something to eat, and then shower.” She said. “Do you guys want me to make you anything?”

Steve’s face broke into a grin, his heart growing in his chest at her small gesture.

“No, we’ll both find ourselves something to eat.” He answered, reaching out to squeeze her free hand. “Thank you for the offer though.”

“Go on and eat. We’ll both go get food and come back when we’re done.” Y/N nodded, her face hot once again. Bucky gave her thigh a reassuring squeeze and reluctantly pulled his hand away, shooing her back into the house. She grumbled, finding it hard to leave the two. Something was pulling at her to stay close, that she shouldn’t stray too far. Shaking off the feeling, she reluctantly stood and waved at the two as they jumped back into the water. Her stomach let out a growl.

“Alright, alright.” She huffed and went back inside to make something to silence the beast within. Pausing in the doorway, she looked over her shoulder in time to see two shapes off in the distance of the water, leading away from the deck. Her heart fluttered in her chest, pulling a frown on her lips. 

Bringing her eyes to the ring on her finger, she still struggled to wrap her head around it all. Tears started to spring to her eyes, and she had to bite her lip from crying. No. She was done crying over that man. She didn’t know what she did to ruin what she thought they had, but something in Taylor changed. She thought they’d spend the rest of their lives together, and yet he did this to her.

Shaking her head of the negative thoughts, Y/N decided to only focus on one problem at a time. Leaving the sliding doors open in case the two returned early, she walked to the kitchen and started to look for food. She’d think about what happened later.


	7. Chapter 6

After a quick bite to eat, Y/N jumped into the shower to wash away the salt and sand that covered her from head to toe. She caught herself in the mirror for the first time and was amazed she hadn’t scared off the two mermen. She let the hot water wash away her dried tears and held in more. She still couldn’t wrap her head around it all. After what felt like hours in the scalding hot water, she stepped out to wrap a fluffy white towel around her body.

Neither of the mers were back yet, and Natasha had vacated her spot on the deck. Y/N walked into the suite and went to the dresser, rubbing a free towel through her hair. There she found a collection of clean white t-shirts and flannel shorts. There was also packs of underwear and bras, smiling at Maria’s thoughtfulness. At the memory of Fury and the mystery woman, a frown tugged on the corner of her lips. What did he mean by he had to?

Shaking her head, she wandered back into the living room and settled on to the couch. She turned the television on and sank back into the cushions. She didn’t realize how exhaust she was until she finally sat down in a comfortable room. Her eyelids began to droop, her body heavy. The sound of splashing pulled her out of her hazy and a soft chuckle filtered through the open door. She hummed and lifted her head in the direction of the sound, spotting the two mermen grinning widely at her from their spot on the deck. The sun had just begun to set, pretty purples and orange illuminating the sky behind them. Her heart faltered at the beauty of the two mers. Unfolding her legs from beneath her, she clicked off the television and stumbled across the room into their arms.

“You just got dried.” Bucky laughed, careful of her clean white shirt. She pouted, but settled between them both, eyeing the way the water pearled down their tan skin. She let out a sigh and leaned against her knees, her eyes slipping closed.

“You can go lay down and get some sleep if you’d like,” Steve whispered, running a hand through her damp hair. She purred under his touch, leaning against the way his fingers curled behind her ear and gently scratched. She mumbled incoherently, her eyes tightly shut. She missed the way the two mers smiled fondly down at her, and how they both looked at each other with the same thought. Bucky chanced scooting closer, settling a hand on her hip.

“Come on doll. Go get some sleep. We’ll be here in the morning.” He nosed her ear, earning a groggy giggle from her. She wanted to ask them to carry her but had to bite her tongue. Sighing in defeat, she nodded.

“Fine. Be the voice of reason.” The mers laughed, nudging her to stand. She looked at the door behind her, decided to shut it and walking around the deck to the other doors. The two mermen slid into the water, following her as she walked across the deck to the other side. She stopped to kneel over the edge, giving the two a sleepy smile and open arms. They didn’t need any more encouragement. Both grabbed the edge of the deck and pulled up with strength Y/N marveled in, to her waiting arms. She hugged them both one by one, whispering her thanks into each of their ears before standing. She didn’t care her shirt was slightly wet with seawater and that she’d have to change. The both beamed up at her, wishing her goodnight as she turned into her room. Once again, she left the door open for the two of them, waving as she walked over to turn the light off and bringing the room into almost near darkness.

She had just settled into the crisp clean sheets when she heard them dip back into the water, one final goodnight floating to her ears as sleep took over.

* * *

 

Fury flipped on the television, chewing on the carrots Maria had set out for him. She rolled her eyes at his loud crunch, regretting the decision to make him his late evening snack.

“Could you chew any louder?” She asked from her spot on the couch with her magazine. Her response was him chewing with his mouth open for several bites. “Ugh.”

He chuckled and closed his mouth turning back to the television screen in front of him. He didn’t get many channels here, hell getting his limit internet access took an act of Congress, but his antenna got enough local channels to keep in the loop.

“How did Y/N settle in?” Maria asked, turning a page.

““Dunno. She seemed pretty shaken still. Jumped at small noises.” Fury replied absently, watching the weather report with half his attention.

“That’s to be expected.” Maria hummed, glancing up when the next news segment came on. “After what she went through, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d willingly get back on a boat.”

Fury glanced at her through the corner of his eye, considering her words. Natasha had told him her two friends found her sinking to the bottom of the ocean after falling off a boat. There were a few things to the story he felt were missing, a few big pieces. She wasn’t acting like someone simply lost at sea, she was acting like someone who was a victim of an assault. She flinched at noises, was constantly looking around for an out. She didn’t want to get on the boat with him at first, it took the two mermen some convincing to help her on the small motorboat. She didn’t want to be left alone with him either. Something happened, something big. He doubted she’d be here for a few days until she could get her feet back under her to go back to the main island. He had a feeling she had more to her story.

During his musing, he missed the beginning of a news story that flashed across the screen. Maria wasn’t paying attention either, not until she heard a familiar name on the low volume. Her head snapped up, gasping at the picture and name on the screen.

“Fury! Is that her?” She threw the magazine at his side, scrambling to the edge of the couch. Fury’s eyes widened at the image of a smiling Y/N on the screen.

“A US tourist was reported missing after a night out of stargazing with her fiancé, Taylor Hoffman. He says the night started out innocently, Both went out for a romantic night in the ocean and returned a little past midnight where the two retired to their hotel room. Security footage shows the two entering the hotel, and the front desk worker at the time backs up the claims with having seen the two enter the elevator at around 12:10am.” Fury turned up the television, his mouth falling open at the blurry images on the screen. Sure enough, there were two people walking into the elevator, the woman in the video having a striking resemblance as the woman taking up residence in their hut.

“Hoffman reports when he woke the next morning, his fiancé had disappeared, all her personal effects left behind in the room. He reported her missing after hours of no contact with her and now the police have begun a search. If you have any information of the whereabouts of this woman, please contact your local authorities.”

The two sat in stunned silence as the news anchor moved on to the next story. Maria was the first to shake off the shock, turning to Fury.

“What the hell is going on?”

* * *

 

The next morning, Y/N groaned, her head pounding. She stretched under the cool sheets, looking up at the ceiling through bleary eyes. Oh right. She wasn’t in her hotel room. Groaning once again, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She glanced at the open doors behind her, her heart dropping at the absence of the two mermen that suddenly appeared in her life. Shaking off the disappointment, she wandered into the bathroom to take care of business and to find a toothbrush. Once done she shuffled into the kitchen and started to make a quick breakfast.

Occasionally, she’d glance at the doors and each time her heart cracked a little. It was stupid to be attached so quickly, but there was a voice in the back of her head telling her they were a bigger part of her life than she ever thought. She thought back to her relationship with Taylor- _before­ the day before. ­_ She never felt as safe with Taylor as she did with the two of them. Now that she thought about it, not once did she ever feel comfortable enough to cry around Taylor. He hated seeing her cry when she did, and he would leave the room if she ever showed signs of being emotional. She used to chalk it up as him not knowing how to handle the tears, but now it seemed like something else. Both Steve and Bucky had no idea who she was, they didn’t even know her name in beginning, yet they held her so tightly and securely as she sobbed into their chests.

The smell of burnt eggs hit her nose, Y/N cursing as she threw the pan off the burner. She let out an unsteady breath, leaning against the island. Nope, there was no way. Red flags were starting to jump up everywhere. Taylor never once told her about his family, he’d clam up and avoid the subject when she’d ask. Not once did she see where he worked, she blindly took his word for it. Even when he’d claim to have business parties, he never took her.

Taylor hated when she cried, almost becoming angry when she did. He despised her speaking out of turn, snapping at her when she voiced her opinion. She once again thought it was something that reminded him of his childhood and didn’t want to resurface those memories. So, she did what he asked when he asked and all without complained. In turn, he was sweet and attentive. He never raised his voice when she followed his rules blindly. Hell, that job opening was even his idea. He wanted something he knew wouldn’t take up her time, and a way to keep her close. How could she be so naive?

Y/N hadn’t realized she had begun to cry again, this time in tears of anger. The hot tears splashed on the granite counter top, hitting the back of her balled up fist. They say it might take victims to come to terms with their abusing a while, along with countless hours of therapy. It took her less than 48 hours to realize her ex was a piece of shit. A controlling, deceitful piece of shit.

Sniffing loudly, she wiped her nose and stood tall. She wasn’t going to wallow in her pity right now, especially not over him. Squaring her shoulders, she grabbed an apple and walked to the glass doors. She chewed on the apple, glaring at the horizon line as the sun was slowly peaking above the water. The breeze was cool and gentle against her hot skin, calming her anger as she tore into the apple.

“Wow. What did that fruit do to you?” The jovial voice caused her to jump. Bucky pulled himself from the water, grinning widely at the sight of her viciously biting into the apple. She grumbled under her breath and turned back to glare at the ocean. Bucky’s smile slipped into a frown, reaching out to grab the leg of the lounge chair. With one sharp tug, he drug it across the deck, ignoring her squawk. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She sighed. He didn’t seem to buy it, tugging at her ankle to pull her closer. “Bucky!”

He ignored her, somehow lifting her off the chair into his arms. She hardly put up a fight, making a sound of half-hearted protest as he settled her into his arms.

“What’s wrong?” He pressed, tossing the apple core into the water.

“Bucky!” She cried, trying to catch the apple before it hit the water.

“It’s not going to harm anything.” He grunted, tilting her head back to his face. “I repeat, for the third time now. What’s wrong?”

Y/N could feel her resolve crumble looking into his pleading blue eyes. She let out a sigh and deflating into his arms.

“Look, it’s really nothing. I just- I’ve come to some realizations that’s all. I’ll be okay now.” She replied quietly. “Or at least I will be.”

Bucky wanted to press more, but Steve decided to make an appearance at the same time. He pulled himself up to the deck, the water flowing down his hair and skin. Y/N bit her lip at the sight, her face heating up. Bucky had a similar reaction, shifting Y/N on his lap as he looked over to his mate.

“Hey, you two.” Steve greeted innocently, missing the stunned silence from the two. “How are you doing this morning, Y/N?”

She blinked rapidly, her mouth falling open and closed before she could find her voice again.

“Uh- I’m better.” Bucky snorted, rolling his eyes at her response. She titled back to glare at him. “What? You have something to say?”

He rolled his eyes, although finding her sudden feistier attitude an incredible turn on. “Oh, so now you’re giving me attitude now. Is that it?”

She made a show of crossing her arms over her chest. Steve’s eyes were wide with confusion, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. He had no idea what was happening but watching the two of them banter back and forth was pretty cute.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She huffed, turning her chin away. “You’re the one with the attitude. And manhandling.”

“I only manhandled you because you weren’t telling me what I wanted to know.” His snipped, though his voice had no real bite. “Which, by the way, you still haven’t told me about.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to tell you.” Y/N sighed loudly. “Maybe I only want to tell Steve.”

Steve perked up, still confused. Bucky let out a dry laugh, struggling to hold back a smile on his lips.

“No way am I letting you tell that punk and not me.”

“Oh, so now you’re trying to control me?” She poked his chest, raising a brow. Bucky would have back peddled if he didn’t see the mirth dancing across her eyes.

“Yep. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. And right now, you’re trying my patience.”

Y/N scoffed and waved a hand in the air. Steve looked slightly concerned, especially when Bucky began to shift Y/N in his arms. She didn’t seem to notice him strategically placing his hand on her and was about to say something to the two.

“Am I? And what exactly are you going to do about it?” She challenged, grinning widely. Bucky smirked, a mischievous look flashing across his face. Y/N didn’t have any time for concern. Without any warning, she was flung into the air, squealing as Bucky threw her into the ocean. She hit the water with a crash, hearing two other splashes as she caught her bearings and swam up to the surface. Bucky was there with his arms around her, keeping her afloat while his laughter wrapped around her.

“That. That’s what I’m going to do about.” He chuckled, burying his head into her neck. She giggled, pushing her hair from her eyes. Steve floated up beside them, grinning at the sight of them. His heart swelled seeing them laughing together, Bucky’s cheeks a shade of pink. It wasn’t often his mate laughed the way he did right now. Y/N brought something out in the both of them.

She twisted in Bucky’s arms, grabbing at Steve.

“Help.” She whined. “Save me from the big jerk.”

Steve barked out a laugh, pulling her from Bucky’s grip. Bucky gasped in fake offense but let her slip from his arms. Steve took her a few feet away, making a show of holding her tight. She giggled and held on, relaxing into Steve’s arms.

“Slightly off topic, I wasn’t dressed to get in the water.” She giggled. She felt Steve’s chest rumble in an answering laugh.

“That’s alright. I don’t think he thought it through.” Steve raised a brow at Bucky who shrugged. “Well now that you’re here, we might as well float around until you need to get out.”

She nodded, absent-mindedly running a hand across his collarbone. Bucky floated closer, his lower lip jutting out. She laughed at his pout and opened her arms to let him slip to her other side. Steve didn’t seem to mind, opening his arms to let Bucky slip in their hug and held him close. She didn’t think anything of it, her eyelids drifting shut as she floated between them. She didn’t even think of the position she was in, trusting them completely to keep her afloat.

They floated in each other arms until her hands started to prune to the point it was painful. Reluctantly she nudged the two awake. Sometime during their floating, the two had drifted off to sleep. She was amazed how their tails kept them floating, almost like the knew she needed air to breathe. Bucky smacked his lips, yawning loudly.

“Wake up sleeping beauties.” She giggled, nudging Steve’s side. “I’m starting to prune and all I had was an apple.”

They both groaned but knew she couldn’t stay in the water for long. On cue, her stomach grumbled so strong they felt it on their arms around her stomach. Steve giggled.

“Fine. We should eat too.” He nudged Bucky, who had slipped back into a light sleep. He grunted, head snapping up as he blearily blinked. “Buck. Let’s let her up to eat.”

Bucky grumbled and wrapped an arm around her waist, his fin moving through the water as he led her to the ladder. She went to grab the wooden rungs, but he held fast.

“Wrap your arms around my neck.” He mumbled, moving her arms around his neck. She began to ask what he meant, but he was already pulling up with both arms. She squeaked and held tight. She was amazed at how effortless he pulled them up the side of the deck, safely depositing her on the wood. She blinked in shock when he settled beside her with a crooked grin.

“Good lord.” She muttered. Bucky chuckled and nudged her to stand.

“Go eat. We’ll be close by.” He gently steered her towards the door, giving the back of her leg a squeeze. Y/N ran a finger through his hair as she passed. She left the door open as she walked to the master suite to change. By the time she returned to the hall, both had left leaving her with her thoughts once again. After a quick bite to eat, the two still hadn’t returned, the door left wide open when they did. Deciding to jump into a quick shower, she took the time to think everything over. She had so many questions she needed answered, but the only one who could tell her wanted her dead. She’d need to figure this out on her own, and hopefully find answers without losing her life. 


	8. Chapter 7

The two had returned while she was in the shower, they could hear the sound of the water from the hall at their spot on the deck. Steve had pulled the lounge chair close, turning it so the two of them could lean against the wooden frame while they waited. They sat in silence, listening to the calm waves below and the distant call of the seagulls above.

Bucky broke the silence, taking in a deep breath. Steve heard it as it was, an anxious sigh.

“What’s wrong, Buck?” He asked softly, moving to press against his mate’s side. Bucky shook his head, pushing back his hair as he let out another breath of air.

“What are we going to do?” Bucky’s voice cracked, his blue eyes springing with tears. Neither of them knew what happened to Y/N, they only knew what they could piece together. If what happened was what they thought, then they were worried for her safety. Whoever was on that boat with her tried to kill her and failed. There was no telling what they would do when they learned Y/N lived. And that scared him.

Steve was quick to put an arm around his shoulder, tucking Bucky against his side. He nuzzled his nose against Bucky’s chin, shushing him gently.

“Hey baby, it’s okay.” He soothed, pressing gentle kisses against Bucky’s skin. Bucky shook his head, clenching his fist against his lap.

“No, Steve. It’s not.” He struggled not to cry, scoffing at how easily he was breaking down. He didn’t cry, not often and not over someone he just met. Yet with Y/N, it made his heart hurt and his chest tighten at the thought that someone wanted her dead. He didn’t even want to dwell that she’d leave them some day. “She’s in danger, Stevie. Someone tried to hurt her, to kill her. They tried to take her-.”

He stopped, gasping at the words he almost spoke.

“Tried to take her from us?” Steve finished, his own voice raw with emotion. Bucky nodded numbly, blinking away the tears. Bucky tipped his head to bury it into Steve’s neck, inhaling his smell. It used to soothe him when he would have panic attacks, Steve always had that effect on him. However, something was missing and that only sent him into further. “Buck, it’s okay breath. She’s safe, she’s here with us. It’s okay.”

Steve had wound his arms around Bucky, holding him tightly to his chest as he began rocking him back and forth. They hadn’t talked much about what that strange tug they felt involving Y/N, but from both their reactions they knew she meant so much more than they thought. A hole was filled when she was with them, the same hole that was constantly there in the back of their mind. For the first time in a long time, the two felt complete and were quickly coming to accept it.

“Buck,” Steve said gently. “Everything will be okay. I swear, we’re not letting anything else happen to her.”

Bucky took in a shuddering breath, nodding against the skin of his mate, trying to anchor himself. He clung to Steve, viciously biting his lip struggling to keep the tears from slipping. He tilted his head back when Steve’s thumb reached up to pull the skin from between his teeth and lurched forward.

Steve made a surprised noise at the back of his throat when Bucky slanted his lips against his. Teeth clashed together, and it was all raw emotion. He needed that touch, to be reminded that Steve was there and wasn’t letting anything happen to her. Steve took over the kiss, grabbing the side of Bucky’s neck to direct the kiss from his harsh attack into a kinder, gentler kiss. They were so engrossed in finding comfort, they missed the shower turning off, and Y/N stepping out in fresh clothes.

She was rubbing the water from her hair as she walked into the living room, missing the two locked in a kiss until she lowered the towel in the middle of the living room. She choked on air at the sight, her cheeks flushing at how the two of them were lost in each other’s hold. Bucky’s hands dung into Steve’s side, while Steve had a tight grip on Bucky’s hair with his left. She couldn’t rip her eyes away at the sight, warmth pooling in her stomach. A part of her felt a twinge of jealous, but she easily swallowed that feeling. It made sense to her as well. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it before, there was clearly something between the two of them. Now she had no room for doubt. Turning away to give the privacy, she went into the kitchen for a glass over water.

Through their haze, Bucky heard the tap turn on. He ripped his head away from Steve, ignoring how he whined when he did and searched the room for Y/N. Her back was to them on the deck, wearing a fresh loose white t-shirt and shorts. Steve followed Bucky’s line of sight, his expression softening at the woman in the kitchen.

“How you feeling doll?” Steve called out scooting away from Bucky’s side. Y/N squeaked, jumping at his low timber from across the room. Honestly, she didn’t think either noticed her entrance, both so engrossed in the other. She turned off the tap and twisted around after composing herself. Bucky reached out to her, his throat closing in realizing he couldn’t get up and walk to her side. Never before did he curse how he was born, but right now he hated that he couldn’t cross the threshold to scoop her up into his arms and hold her tight. Y/N saw his inner turmoil and quickly set her still full glass down on the counter. She was across the room and taking hold of his hand in seconds, climbing over the chair as she went.

Bucky didn’t stop panicking until she was in safely his arms with his head buried into her neck. His breath was coming in sharp and shallow and his head was spinning, even as he drug his nose against the nape of her neck. Steve took hold of her legs, draping them once again over his lap. She wrapped an arm around Bucky’s waist and used the other to hold tightly to his hair. She hummed softly, hoping to sooth the mer as he began to shake, his grip like iron wrapped around her. She didn’t mind, snuggling further in his grip. Steve leaned forward and pressed his face against Bucky’s shoulder, watching the two through his lashes.

Nothing was needed to be said. Bucky desperately needed to know Y/N was safe, and she was willing to let him hold her tightly as long as he needed. Steve held on to both, hoping being surrounded by his arms would help calm his mate. Secretly, he hoped she would tell them what happened. They wanted to know, but neither wished to press.

Eventually, Bucky felt the anxiety lessen, his muscles unclenching as he began to relax. Taking in her smell, memorizing how she breathed in and out helped center him. The simple things seemed to help bring him back to the present and his focus on what he could control. He still didn’t let her go but loosened his grip to let her sit back to look into his eyes.

“What happened?” She asked gently, cupping his cheek. He sighed, nuzzling his cheek into the palm.

“It’s… It’s nothing.” He said lamely. She snorted, pinching his cheek in retaliation. Bucky yelped at the sting, pulling away with wide eyes.

“What was that for?” He cried, rubbing the reddening flesh. She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You’re a god-awful liar, Bucky.” She grumbled. Steve laughed, nodding despite Bucky’s glare.

“She’s right you know.” He chuckled. “I’d just tell her the truth.”

Bucky exhaled, his shoulders dropping. He knew they’d have to discuss it eventually, but he was hoping he didn’t have to bring in his emotions until later. Sighing once again in defeat, he took her left hand in his.

“I’m worried about you.” He admitted softly.  She blinked in surprise, glancing at Steve before looking back to him. “Y/N we have no idea what went on that boat. All we can do is guess. And we’re both guessing someone tried to kill you.”

Y/N stiffened, attempting to pull her fingers from his grip. He made a noise of distress and held fast.

“No. Please just listen.” He took a deep breath, holding back the threatening tears. “We think someone tried to kill you, and it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s tried to by throwing someone overboard. You were sinking and sinking fast. If we didn’t get to you when we did, you would have drowned.” He glanced up at her through his lash, continuing with his speech. “I don’t know what life you lived before this or how you managed to get in this position, but thinking about you going back to your world, with the danger of what might be waiting for you; it scares me.”

Y/N’s chest tightened at his admission, hearing and seeing the sincerity in his words. With one quick look at Steve, she saw the same concern and worry on his own face.

“It hurts knowing you’d be putting yourself in further danger, and neither of us can be there to help you. It hurts not knowing what happened to you. But I understand if you don’t want to bring it up now. It’s completely up to you.” Even though he said one thing, she knew it wasn’t how he felt. She could see the desperation for answers in both their eyes. She wasn’t blind.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N closed her eyes. She could feel them watching her, the intensity growing the longer she held back the information.

“I can’t do that right now.” She whispered. Her eyelids fluttered open, and her heart clenched at the dismay on both their faces. She smiled sadly, taking Steve’s hand in hers to hold both their hands. “I know it’s not something either of you wants to hear, but please know that I will tell you. Eventually. Right now, I just want to forget.”

The two mers looked at each other, having the same thought. They really wanted to press, their instincts were kicking in, telling them to fight and protect her. It dawned on them both at some point during the day why that was. She was their mate, the missing piece to their puzzle. Finally admitting it to themselves broke whatever was holding them back. She wouldn’t have the slightest clue what that pull was she felt, but they knew she did. Each time she reached out to one of them or smiled in their direction it was her answering the call. If she was one of their own, a mer like them, she would have told them. She would have known they can protect her. Sadly, she wasn’t.

“Okay,” Steve said slowly, turning his eyes away from Bucky. “We wouldn’t force you to tell us. But know whenever you do, we’re here and we’ll listen.”

She let out a sigh of relief, nodding with a smile. “Thank you.”

The loud sound of a motorboat in the distance pulled their attention to the ocean. The three squinted at the horizon, Fury’s motorboat coming into sight.

“Huh. I didn’t know they left.” Y/N said absently, watching as he docked the boat. He stepped out, turning to extend a hand to a second person in the boat, their back facing the bungalow. “Who’s that?”

The two mers tensed, their eyes going wide with horror. Y/N yelped as Bucky lifted her up and over his shoulder to deposit her on the lounge chair. They shoved off the wooden deck, diving into the water with a splash. Y/N watched as the two dart off in the water in the opposite direction. Nervously, she looked back to the dock, her heart dropping when she saw the empty dock. A knock at her door caused her to jump.  

Slowly, she made her way to the door, unlocking the bolt before peaking through the crack. A woman stood at the entrance, Fury standing behind her with a grim look on his face. When the woman saw Y/N, she smiled widely.

“Hi!” She greeted with a bit too much pep. An alarm bell went off in the back of Y/N’s mind, and dread filled her stomach. As much as she wanted to slam the door in her face, Y/N had an idea who this woman was, and the woman seemed to know something about her. Y/N pulled the door open, chewing on her bottom lip. “You must be Y/N. My names Maria. And I think we have a few things to discuss.”  


	9. Chapter 8

“That was close.” Steve hissed, glancing over his shoulder. Bucky’s mouth was pulled into a thin line, his stomach in knots. “We need to be more careful.”

Bucky didn’t reply, silently agreeing. They were getting careless all because of small human woman that somehow managed to wrap them around her pinky finger. They were too comfortable with her, letting their guard down for too long. It was an error, and completely out of character for the both of them. How could they have been so careless?

“Be more careful with what?” The two mermen jumped, their fins kicking up the sand, temporary blinding them.

“Sweet summer seas!” Steve cried out, slamming into Bucky’s chest. Bucky wrapped his arms protectively around his mate, his lips pulled back into a snarl. Natasha giggled, a smug smirk on her face as she swam up beside them, waving the sand away as it settled. “What the hell, Natasha?”

She snickered, swimming in circles around the two while they followed with a glare. “It’s not often I can sneak up on you two. What’s gotten you so worried?”

The two glanced at the other, Steve shifting in Bucky’s arms. “It’s nothing.”

She stopped in front of them, frowning at his tone. “Really? It doesn’t sound like it.”

“It’s nothing, really. We just got a little careless.” Bucky answered, rubbing his thumb on Steve’s sides. “We’ll be okay, Nat.”

Natasha was quiet, eyes darting between the two of her friends. Something was up with the two of them, she knew them well enough to see how they were trying to bottle up their issues, more than likely they were going to deal with it themselves. She narrowed her eyes and decided the best course of action was simply put everything out in the open.

“She’s your mate.” The two blinked, mouth falling open in surprise. “You two have been missing something for a while now, and you’ve found it in her. She’s also in incredible danger, and let me guess, wouldn’t tell you with what?”

“How did-?”

“I know?” Natasha interrupted Bucky, crossing her arms across her chest. “I’m not blind. I saw how you too looked at her, how you held her. It was more than obvious. And I knew she was in some sort of danger considering you found her sinking to the bottom of the ocean. You both are also incredibly too calm considering it, leading me to believe that she either hasn’t or wouldn’t tell you what’s wrong with her. If you knew, you’d both be in a blind rage right now trying to protect her.”

When she didn’t get a response, she couldn’t stop from letting out a loud irritated sigh. “Look, I know you two think you can handle this alone, but you don’t have to. I’m here to help as much as I can, and if that means I listen to whatever you need, then so be it. Quit being such babies and let me help you.”

Bucky frowned, glancing over at Steve. The blonde deflated, his shoulders dropping. They had no idea how big this was, and shouldn’t push away help.

“It’s not that we’re trying to be. It’s just…” He took in an uncertain breath. “This is all new to us. We have no idea what we’re doing, we’ve never really interacted with a human before.”

“And you have no idea what her customs are when it comes to mates?” Natasha questioned, a kind smile spreading on her face. Steve nodded, tilting his head to look up at Bucky.

“Yes. We feel the pull, we both know it’s there. But she doesn’t seem to. Or if she does, she hides it well.” Steve’s voice broke slightly, his stomach in knots from the uncertainty.

He wasn’t used to this kind of feeling, he was so used to things just working out for him. He found Bucky when he was younger, the brunette saved him from a fight with a mershark. Steve was much smaller than the rest of his pod, frighteningly skinny. It didn’t stop him from trying to fight with others three times his side. Bucky found him backed into a corner, teeth bared at the older mershark. He swooped in and saved Steve, and since then they’ve been inseparable. Even all those years ago, Steve knew Bucky was his mate and so did Bucky. Not only was the spark there, the pull was strong, neither could be away from the other for too long. It was like that with every mate. When Natasha met Clint, it was powerful and life-altering. They couldn’t stray without feeling sick or utterly heartbroken. Once the form was created, it was an eternal bond. The only difference between Steve, Bucky and Y/N, was the pull was much weaker.

“She knows to a level,” Bucky interjected. Steve shrugged feebly, doubt spreading through him. Did she really though?

“I guess. But she doesn’t feel it the same way we do.” Even without the strong pull, it still hurt thinking she would likely never feel the same way they felt.

“Are you sure she’s your mate?” Natasha questioned the two. Neither had to think about their answer, it was already clear to them both where they stood. While they didn’t feel particularly sick being so far away from her, they did feel like something was wrong, that something was missing. The hole in their life was filled the second they found her, and their feeling on grew for her the longer they spent time with her. Without any doubt, they knew she was their mate. “Then stop worrying.”

The two blinked, stunned at her simple answer.

“Wait, what?” Bucky was used to her having some elaborate plan, she always knew more about things than she let on. This was not a solution they were expecting to come from her mouth.

“Stop worrying, and let thing happen when they happen.” She shrugged.

“Who are you and what have you done to Natasha?” Steve narrowed his eyes, floating closer to the smaller mermaid. She made a face, crossing her arms across her chest once again.

“What? You don’t know anything about what happened to her, you don’t even know where she comes from,” She shrugged. “All you know is she’s your mate and that’s really all that should matter. Whatever happens, happens. Don’t worry about what you can’t control. Now go back to her and don’t leave her side again.”

Bucky and Steve hesitated, tensing at the thought of just why they fled so quickly. Natasha frowned, her eyes narrowing.

“Why did you two leave her?” Natasha pressed, brows furrowing with confusion. “Back to my first question, what should you be careful with?”

Bucky huffed, shaking his head. “We were almost seen by another human. Fury brought someone on the island and we were sitting on the porch. She almost saw us.”

“She?” Natasha interrupted. Steve shrugged.

“I don’t know. We didn’t really get a good look of her face. Just the back of her head.”

“Tall, brown hair? Probably up in a bun?” She waved to her hair. Bucky’s mouth fell open to answer, but the words escaped him. Steve’s brows furrowed.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

A smirk slipped on Natasha’s face, laughter bubbling up her chest. Steve bristled at the sound, and Bucky grumbled under his breath.

“What? Do you know her?” Steve pressed, moving closer towards Natasha. “Who is she, Natasha?”

“She’s a friend of Fury. Actually, she’s a friend of Clint and I as well.” Natasha chuckled with a shake of her head. “Her names Maria and she knows about us merpeople too.”

“She does?” Bucky questioned skeptically.  He didn’t know who this woman was, and while he trusted Natasha, he wasn’t sure about this Maria.

“Yup, she’s pretty well versed in who we are.” Natasha. “Of anyone, she’s probably the only one who understands our the most. Go back to Y/N, and don’t worry about Fury bringing anyone to the island you should be concerned of. He doesn’t have many people he’s willing to let on his little island. I’ll go get Clint and meet you two back up at the bungalow and we can see if we can get her to tell us whatever happened with her.”

Bucky and Steve nodded in stunned agreement, having received more questions than answers with her response. Maybe Natasha really did know more than she let on. She began to twist around, nodding to the two over her shoulder when something clicked in Steve’s mind.

“Wait, what did you mean of all people, she understands us the most?” Natasha didn’t respond, only giving him a small upturn of her lips in response before she swam off.

“Go back to her you idiots!” She called out over her shoulders before disappearing behind a coral reef bank. Steve and Bucky turned to each other, confused.

“Well that wasn’t ominous,” Bucky muttered, sighing loudly. “Come on, if she’s right then there shouldn’t be a problem with going back to Y/N. I don’t like being so far from her either.”

“Yeah, me too.” Steve nodded, turning to lean against his mate’s broad chest. “I just want one day without anything exciting with her.”

Bucky chuckled, wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist to hold him close. “You say that now, but you and I both know that’s not what you really think.”

Steve dryly chuckled, tightening his arms in response. They floated in the current, their tails keeping them from the surface as they clung to each other. This was still all so new and unsettling for them both. They found that piece of the puzzle they were missing, and they couldn’t even enjoy they found their other half. Maybe that was there the problem?

“Natasha’s right,” Bucky sighed. “We’ve spent so much time worrying about her, we haven’t had the chance to get to know her.”

Steve pulled back to look up to Bucky. He smiled, smoothing Bucky’s long hair from his face as it swirled around his face like a halo. He nodded and pressed a kiss against Bucky’s chin. His lips lingered against Bucky’s skin, taking a moment to savor his mates taste. Bucky chuckled and dipped his head down to press a searing kiss to Steve’s mouth. He pulled away, Steve chasing for a moment with a low whine.

“Nope. Now’s not the time.” Bucky smirked, kissing Steve’s temple before he pulled away. Steve whined but let him slip from his grip. “Let go back to Y/N. And then maybe later-.”

“Let’s go!” Steve interrupted by grabbing Bucky’s hand, yanking him along while taking off in the direction of the island. Bucky laughed loudly, locking his fingers with Steve and let him drag him along, smiling fondly at the back of his blonde mate’s head. The smile that spread on his face was blinding and his heart was full. He hadn’t the slightest idea what they were going to do with Y/N’s situation, but for now, they were going enjoy the time they had and get to know the woman who was their other half.


	10. Chapter 9

There were a number of things in Y/N’s life that made her question her life decisions. Why did she decide it was so important to go to the museum the same day her mother passed away from cancer? Why did she decide to go with the crappy ten-year-old car that broke down every week leaving her in just as much debt as she would have been in if she just bought a brand-new car? Why did she go to that bar and meet Taylor? Currently, she was questioning why she let the two strange people in the hut so they could sit in the two armchairs across from her to stare at her with an odd look on both their faces.

Y/N shifted uncomfortably, wringing her fingers together on her lap. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and her throat was dry as a bone. She hated how nervous she got under pressure sometimes, and right now she felt more than overwhelmed. They hadn’t said a word other than Maria’s welcome, but from the look in both their eyes, they knew something. And it was killing her to know just what. Shifting in her seat once again, she felt the pressure was too much and snapped.

“Okay, what? What do we need to talk about? What?!” She demanded, her words coming out in a flustered rush. Maria glanced over to Fury with a smirk, leaning forward on her knees. She looked over Y/N, her eyes linger on the ring she still had yet to take off her finger. Consciously, Y/N covered it with her other hand, tucking it into her lap. Maria smirked and sat back, letting out a puff of laughter. Slowly, she turned to a bag that was sitting beside her, opening the top flap to pull out a manila folder. The thick folder slapped on the coffee table, causing Y/N to jump at the force of the toss.

“Look through those, tell me what I should think about them.” Maria waved to the folder, tapping her finger against her lips.

Dread filled Y/N’s stomach, and hesitantly she reached to take the folder of the table. It was thicker than she would have through, heavy in her hands. Letting out a shaky breath, she opened the file and gasped at the picture on top. Staring up at her was surveillance image of her and Taylor sitting at the bar the day they got to the hotel room. She looked so carefree and happier then, even Taylor looked like he was enjoying the night. Unsteadily, she flipped the picture. More images of her and Taylor on the main island with her looking excited and lively, while Taylor became increasingly troubled as the timeline went on.

“How did you get these?” Y/N gasped in shock. She stopped on the latest photo, right as they were walking to the docks, arm, and arm. Maria sat forward, her eyes searching for something in Y/N face as the woman looked over the photos. She saw flashed of remorse, disbelief, and fear before settling on a burning rage. Maria’s lips twitched, a smile threatening to form. So, she still didn’t feel things for the man who claimed she was missing.  Interesting, perhaps she knew more than she let on.

“Flip that picture, look what’s underneath,” Maria commanded softly. Reluctantly, Y/N flipped the image over, glancing up at Maria through her lashes for a moment before looking back to the folder. The air left her lungs, her heart stopping in her chest at the paper in front of her. Laying innocently on top was a newspaper article, and her smiling image staring back up at her.

“What the fucking hell?!” Y/N snarled, reading over the bold headline, her caged fury reeling its ugly head at the printed words.

**POLICE COMB THE SHORELINE FOR A MISSING WOMAN; ANY INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT FIANCE-TALOYR HOFFMAN.**

“He’s telling people I’m missing?!” She cried, her lip pulling back in disbelief. “Are you shitting me?!”

Maria jumped, the smile growing wider at Y/N’s outburst. It didn’t take her but a glance in Fury’s direction to see he was sporting the same grin. He had leaned back in his seat on the air chair, hiding his smile behind a hand while keeping a trained eye on Y/N as she flipped through the rest of the images.

“Who the fuck is this?!” She hissed, waving an image of Taylor and the mystery woman in the lobby. Maria shrugged and reached across the coffee table to take the image from Y/N’s crushing grip.

“Dunno. But he sure did a bang-up job trying to find someone to look exactly like you.” Her response only sent Y/N in a further rage. She slammed the paper on the table, glaring daggers at the file. Fingers dug into the skin on her knees, trying her best not to shake from the blinding rage. Taylor was a piece of shit for a number of reasons, but this was the icing to the top of the cake.  “I’d think it was you if you weren’t sitting right across from me.”

Y/N looked up to Maria, her nostrils flaring and her body quaking. While she knew Maria had nothing to do with what Taylor attempted, her careless tone wasn’t helping her. She felt her lip pullback in a snarl, ready to rip into the strange woman that burst into her safe house, flaunting these images. Maria didn’t even bat an eyelash at the sight of Y/N baring her teeth at her. She simply placed the imaged back in the file, clearing her throat before addressing Y/N further.

“Before you yell, I need to ask you a few things.” It took everything in Y/N not to snap back, that it wasn’t any of her business. But things weren’t looking well on her end and shouldn’t spit in her helps face. Taking a deep breath, Y/N nodded for Maria to continue. “I think the hardest should be asked first. What was your relationship like with this man?”

Y/N took in another shuddering breath, trying to still her beating heart. She closed her eyes for a moment, her brows furrowing when his face flashed across her mind. Her stomach shifted uncomfortably. He made her sick just thinking about him now, and while she hated to reopen the wounds so soon, she needed to tell someone. Clearly, she wasn’t handling things well on her own.

Y/N eyes fluttered open, and she cast a longingly look towards the open patio doors and out to the open waters. As much as she wished they were there, she knew there would be little the two mermen could do to help her. Sighing, she turned back to Maria and Fury and let everything out, answering any questions they had.

* * *

 

Half an hour later, she told them everything she knew about her ex/attempted killer.

“So he was a controlling asshole that did an excellent job hiding how controlling he was?” Maria summarized, sucking down the rest of her mojito. Halfway through Y/N’s explanation, Fury decided a drink was in order for all three as they pieced together the confusing and seemingly well thought out plan. Y/N nodded, taking a sip from her own favored drink and let out a defeated sigh.

“I just can’t believe how stupid I was.” Her voice quivered at the end. She hadn’t stopped kicking herself from seeing the signs earlier, she thought she was smarter than this. Maria quickly stood from her seat and moved around the coffee table to sit beside Y/N. She threw an arm around Y/N’s shoulder and pulled her close. Y/N’s began to tremble, her tears starting to spill as she sobbed into Maria’s chest.

“Hey. Don’t do this to yourself. You did nothing wrong.” Maria soothed. Fury stood as well and went in search of tissues form the bathroom hall. When he returned, he spotted two head popping up over the edge of the deck outside. He passed the box to Maria, who quietly passed a few to Y/N, and walked out to the doors leaving Maria to console Y/N.

“You two can come up.” He spoke, standing over the edge. Bucky and Steve looked at each other, uncertain if he was worth listening to. “Maria knows all about your kind. She’s the one who patched up Clint’s fin when it tore during the storm.”

Fury didn’t wait for a response from either merman and turned back to the door. He paused when he heard the rush of water as they broke the surface and pulled themselves to the deck. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked them both over with a calculative expression.

“Maria and I will handle her ex’s end. For now, she just needs her mates to comfort her.” He continued into the building without another word. Steve and Bucky were stunned. Were they really that transparent?

The watched through the open patio door as Fury bent over Y/N, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. He tilted his chin to the two mermen, mumbling something to Maria while Y/N spun to look out at Steve and Bucky. Their hearts climbed to their throats at the sight of her tear stained face and bloodshot eyes. She uttered something softly to the two, nodding her head before blowing her nose into the tissue.

“Well look further into Taylor’s background. For now, just stay put. He thinks you’re dead somewhere at the bottom of the ocean. Until we figure out why he did what he did, we need to keep you here. Safe and far away from him.” Maria said low. Gently, she took Y/N by the elbow and led her towards the door. “Keep her occupied, but don’t let her get too far.”

The two mermen nodded numbly, amazed how unaffected Maria was by the sight of them. Bucky reached out to take Y/N’s hand in his. She smiled hesitantly, but let him pull her down into his arms. Maria chuckled fondly and walked back to the front door alongside Fury. Just as she passed the threshold into the living room, something dawned on her.

“When you flew here, did he have you do anything out of the ordinary?” Y/N frowned, scrunching her face as she tried to recall anything strange.

“Like what?”

“Anything you wouldn’t normally do?” Maria shrugged. “Maybe he had you make an investment on something, or send a letter for him somewhere?”

“No nothing like that.” Y/N drawled, racking her brain for anything. “Oh wait! He had me set up a life insurance policy about a month before the vacation.”

A smile cracked on Maria’s face, the final puzzle piece sliding into place. Fury let out a huff. It was almost to easy to see the motive now. He turned and went to the door, waiting with it open for Maria.

“Thank you, Y/N. And don’t worry. We’ll handle everything.” Maria hummed, waving over her shoulder as they exited the bungalow. The door shut behind them with a click, leaving Y/N with yet again more questions than answers.

“Should I be concerned?” Y/N asked breathlessly. The two mermen shrugged, not even knowing what Maria was talking about. What was a life insurance policy? More importantly, how were the two of them going to be able to handle Y/N’s ex alone?

Steve and Bucky gave each other a look, brows furrowed in concern. Steve was the first to shake his head. They needed to distract Y/N, she had too much on her plate to worry about. Them adding their two cents wasn’t worth it.

Bucky tucked a stray hair behind Y/N’s ear, smiling gently at her when she turned to face him in his arms.

“We’ll let them worry about things. For now, do you want to go out and see the bale of sea turtles that are migrating?”

The smile that broke across Y/N’s face was heart-stopping, the two mer’s losing their voices at the pure excitement on her face. She nodded vigorously, clambering out of Bucky’s lap.

“Yes! Let me go change into a swimsuit!” She shouted over her shoulder while she bolted through the door. She had seen a few that looked about her size in a bag in the closet. Maria seemed to know things about her before even meeting her. 

Steve chuckled low, the smile causing his eyes to crinkle around the corners. Bucky struggled to catch his breath at the sight, having trouble as it was with Y/N’s own smile. When Steve turned back to Bucky, he froze at the awe-stricken expression on his mate’s face, blinking innocently down at the brunette.

“What?”

Bucky shook his head, returning Steve’s lopsided grin with a flash of his own pearly white teeth. He hooked an arm around Steve’s neck and yanked him against his chest for a breathless kiss. Bucky pulled away when they both desperately needed to breathe, his lips brushing lightly against Steve’s.

“Absolutely nothing.”


	11. Chapter 10

Y/N was vibrating with excitement, her eyes wide as she tightened her grip around Steve’s neck. His finger gently dug into the skin of her forearm, making an uncomfortable face.

“Not so tight. You’re choking me.” He wheezed. Y/N gasped, loosening her arms to let the air flow return to his lungs. He cleared his throat, swallowing loudly at the return of air flow. He might have gills, along with his lungs, but squeeze low enough, and they’d suffocate like anyone else.  She managed to find one of their weakness without even trying.

“I’m so sorry!” She squealed in embarrassment, burying her face into the back of his neck. Bucky chuckled beside her, bushing up against her side. Steve gently patted her forearm in reassurance, grinning over his shoulder.

“It’s okay, I know you’re excited.” Steve chuckled. The two mermen knew Y/N needed a break from everything, and they hoped her seeing the sea turtles just off the coastline would help. So far, she seemed to have put everything else in the back of her mind for the moment, and for the first time, the two mermen saw a true smile on her face. While she settled once again against Steve’s back, Bucky to the chance to look her over, his lips turning up at the fond thought of earlier.

_When she jumped off the deck with a squeal of excitement before she hit the water, Bucky felt his breath stop and words escape him. Steve had leaped in beside her, diving straight to her side before she surfaced. Bucky watched from above as Steve tossed her in the air, laughing boisterously at her startled scream. He caught her as she was brought back to the earth, pulling her into her arms and spinning in the water with a laugh. Y/N was busy reprimanding the blonde, but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. It didn’t take her long to melt into his arms, sighing noisily with an over exaggerated roll of her eyes. Bucky felt his heart tighten at the sight of them, words lost on him as he watched his mates giggle, pressing their noses against each other._

_When he slid into the water beside them, warmth spread through his chest when Y/N and Steve both turned their faces, both glowing with happiness. Y/N reached a hand out towards him, beckoning him closer to her side. Bucky didn’t need to be asked twice and closed the distance between them. Nestled against both their sides, he felt a calm settled in his chest, and once again felt his life complete._

_The three floated for a moment longer, soaking in the comfort they felt from being in each other’s arms. A thought crossed through Y/N’s mind. She never felt this safe, this secure once in Taylor’s arms. She always felt something was off, but always shoved that to the back of her mind. She wanted to get married, to have a man she could call her own. She wasn’t sure when she would ever get the chance again to find a man who loved her like she thought Taylor had. Now, in the arms of two men- mermen she had to remind herself, she realized what she had with Taylor was nothing compared to this. The only thing she knew was wrong was how this shouldn’t-couldn’t work out. A thought that hurt her more than she expected. Y/N found herself hating the idea of leaving them, it made her sick to her stomach to even consider it._

_She had titled her head at some point, her lashes brushing against Steve’s tanned skin of his neck. Bucky had buried his face into her neck, taking in deep breaths every few seconds, as if he was taking in her smell, hoping to memorize her scent. She caught sight of the three thin lines, his gills, out of the corner of her eyes. Tenderly, she brushed a finger against the sensitive flesh. Bucky jerked at the feather-light touch, his eyelids popping open wide. She flinched when his head snapped up, his mouth falling open. She froze at the conflict swirling in his blues, something swelling inside her stomach when she saw how his pupils seemed to swallow up what was left._

_Bucky didn’t think she meant it, she didn’t know. He shot Steve a frantic look that screamed at him to help. The words were silent, but Steve knew just what to do._

_“Why don’t we go find those turtles before they leave,” Steve spoke gently. Y/N nodded, her face hot from the way Bucky was staring at her. He looked torn between eating her and something else, something that made her stomach flip. She tore her gaze away first, Steve let her go to turn and present her with his back. “It’s a bit of way off. You can hold on until we get there.”_

Bucky blinked away the memory, his mind still fuzzy from Y/N’s innocent touch. She had no idea what she meant. She didn’t know how sensitive their gills were. She didn’t know that when another mer brushed against the tender flesh, it meant they were interested in starting the courting ritual. She hadn’t the faintest idea that because she not only touched Steve, in touching Bucky’s as well, she had trigged their mating instinct. They wanted to get to know her better, to know the real Y/N before they jumped on her. However, it seemed fate had another plan.

Y/N gasp pulled him from his musing, Steve’s chucking low in an answer. She practically started climbing up his back to get a better look at the giant sea turtles in the crystal blue water.

“There’s so many!” She squealed, beaming with excitement. Bucky chortled, delicately pulling her arms from around Steve’s neck as she yet again began tightening her grip from her eagerness.

“Let’s get you closer. Got your goggles?” Y/N nodded, snapping the small pair on swiftly. She turned to Bucky with a lopsided grin.

“How do I look?” She giggled. Bucky bit his bottom lip. Ridiculous, he wanted to say truthfully. But she couldn’t see underwater like them. Neither merman had considered that until she threw it overhead and around her neck. It only served to remind them how different of species they were.

“Cute.” He says, pretending to center them on her faced. She laughs and bats his hands away.

“Alright, alright.” She paused, watching one of the turtles- a ginormous loggerhead, came closer, curiously brushing close to her side. Her eyes grew wide, and she tried to keep her treading to a minimum as to not scare it off. “I don’t know what to do right now.”

Bucky snorted and let the turtle come closer, grinning at the curious creature. Y/N stayed completely still as the created made its way around her, and she did her best not to touch. She desperately wanted to reach out and run a hand down its shell, but she knew she couldn’t. Bucky noticed and had to ask, why she was so hesitant.

“They’re endangered, and legally you’re not supposed to touch them.” She giggled as it turned and swam back to the rest, clearly uninterested with the newcomers. Bucky nodded, his smile never faltering despite thinking that was bit strange. “Well, let’s go! As much as like seeing them up here, I wanna see them a little closer.”

Only then did his smile slip from his face, and a touch of unease settled in his stomach. He shot a glance over at Steve as he slid up beside him. There was something they needed to tell her, a change she didn’t even know had taken place in herself. She noticed the shift in the two, a frown tugging on her lips.

“What?” She pressed, pulling the goggles off so she could see the two clearer. Neither spoke right away, Steve clenching his jaw while Bucky struggled to find the right words. “Seriously? What’s wrong?”

Steve let out a sigh, his shoulders dropping. “There’s nothing wrong it’s just…” He took in a deep breath, taking hold of her hand. “When we found you, you weren’t breathing. You had water in your lungs, you were drowning even after we pulled you out of the water.”

Y/N stayed silent, frowning in confusion and wondering just where he was going with this. What did any of this have to do with the sea turtles? Steve continued, shifted uncertainly in the water.

“We had seen enough humans do this to another when they were rescued from drowning, and Bucky figured it was worth a shot trying. It’s that mouth to mouth thing you do, to push in air I’m guessing?” He looked up at Y/N, who was nodding following along with what he was describing. “Well, while it means one thing for humans, when we- merfolk I mean, kiss a human, it does something different.”

“What do you mean?” Y/N felt her breath catch, her brain trying to go through all the fairy tales and folklore she could remember concerning mermaids. There was nothing she could remember, nothing that stood out to supply an answer to what he was getting at. “What did you do to me?”

“Nothing bad!” Steve’s eyes widen in horror. Bucky made a noise in the back of his throat, wanting to shove Steve aside and assure her they did nothing to hurt her. “It takes a lot of trust for a mer to show themselves to a human. We normally don’t surface and keep to the deeper waters. Our track record with humans have always been rough, and we don’t want our existence to be known for a reason.”

Y/N opened her mouth, ready to tell him to get on with it, but Steve hurriedly jumped back in before she could snap.

“In other words, when and if we ever share a kiss, it means something. Something more than just a small gesture. It means we’ve given our complete trust in the human and in turn we give them a gift.”

Y/N mouth snapped shut, still perplexed, but rapidly comprehending the weight of his words. Butterflies filled her stomach, and with a hasty glance at Bucky’s unreadable expression, they exploded. This was big, far greater than she had ever thought.

“When we share a kiss, we give the human the ability to breathe underwater.”

“Wait? What?” Y/N gasped, looking between the two. “As in, permanently? Or is just a one-time thing?”

“It’s a permanent thing,” Bucky said carefully, watching the emotions flash across her face.

“But, you didn’t even know me.” Y/N spoke lamely, stunned. It was true, they didn’t even know her, and yet he tried to save her life and in turn gave her a gift only given to those that merfolk deemed worthy enough. Why would he willingly do so? He could have simply let her die, yet he instead chose to save her. A complete stranger.

Bucky shrugged, his heart hammering in his chest when he saw her struggle with his words. “I had to, and I don’t regret it for a second.”

He encircled her in his solid arms, holding her close to his front as she began to shake. Steve’s words were slowly sinking in. She’d never worry of drowning, she never needed to fear the open water again. When she was with the two mermen, that fear was put at the back of her mind, knowing they’d be there to keep her safe. However, the thought of going anywhere near open water alone terrified her. Memories of that night were still fresh, and while she didn’t remember very much, she couldn’t forget the shocking cold and her lungs filling with water.

“Hey, it’s okay. Breathe.” Bucky shushed her softly, running his hand through her drying hair. “You don’t ever have to worry about that again. Even if we’re not here to keep you safe, you’ll never have to worry about that fate ever again. It’s okay.”

Y/N clung to Bucky, sucking in as much air as she could, trying to calm herself. A heavyweight crushed against her back, Bucky opening his arms to let Steve in. Together, the held her tight, hoping to center her. Bucky wasn’t sure what possessed him to do what he did next. He brushed his lips against her temple, pressing feather light kisses against her skin. He couldn’t stop once he started. Not to one to be left out, Steve was following Bucky’s suit, tucking the hair from her face so he could press his own comforting kisses along the side of her face and down her neck.

Y/N wasn’t even slightly fazed by their boldness, actually finding comfort in the way they held her close and tried to reassure her. A giggle slipped from her lips when Steve found a sensitive spot below her ear, and she felt the tension slip from the both.

“Are you okay?” Bucky murmured, tipping Y/N’s chin up with a finger under her chin. She nodded, a content smile on her face.

“Thank you, both of you.” She whispered, squeezing her arms around Bucky’s waist. He cocked his head to the side, smiling but confused.

“For what?” He chuckled, dipping down to press another, firmer kiss against her brow. Y/N crinkled her face, giggling at the gesture.

“For saving me. For not even knowing who I was, but willing to risk everything and pulling me out of the water.” Her voice quaked at the end, and she had to steel herself. “For all you know, I could have been a major bitch.”

The two mermen chuckled, shaking their heads.

“But you aren’t, and you don’t have to thank us.” Steve began.

“You didn’t have to save me. You didn’t have any reason to.” Y/N said, her tone sharp. Bucky and Steve both looked at each other, knowing that was the furthest thing from the truth. However, it was only time for one big life-altering secret at a time. Sighing, Bucky nudged her out from between them, and towards the meandering turtles.

“We had every reason to.” He cut her off with a wave of his hand and jerked his chin to the turtles. He wasn’t going to argue with her anymore about this, at least not right at the moment. “Now, let’s go look at some turtles.”


	12. Chapter 11

Y/N let out a blissful sigh, floating on her back with her eyes closed. After swimming with the turtles, Steve and Bucky had taken her back to the island so she could eat and dry off before she jumped right back in with them. 

The first dive, she would admit was harder than she thought. Being surrounded by the cool water, waiting for the second that she lost all her air and the water filling her lung was nerve-wracking. But Steve and Bucky were there with a reassuring hand, urging her on. She had to resurface, the panic was too much for her and she couldn’t do it.

“Hey, breath. It’s okay.” Steve had cupped her face with his, looking straight into his eyes as she tried not to tailspin into another panic attack. “I promise, it’s going to get easier. You wouldn’t drown. I swear.”

She took a chance to trust him and was so grateful she had. It took a short time, but Bucky and Steve held firm, urging her to breathe in deeply under the water. It was a strange sensation, not breathing in the water and drowning. Yet, she didn’t. Probably strange magic. But she figured, if she could be swimming in the arms of two mermen, then sure why not be able to breathe underwater. Once she got past her terror and nerves, the rest of the day went by in a blur. One quick wonderful blur filled with laughter and exploration with two amazing mermen at her side.

Now, the sun was setting on another day, and for once, the entire situation with Taylor hadn’t crossed her mind once since that morning. She was happy, content, but more importantly, she felt safe and cared for the first time in years. She thought she knew what happiness was, real happiness, but it seemed not even Taylor could manage to fake that. This felt right, being with the two mermen she had grown so fond of in such a short time felt right.

All day they were there, right beside her. Now that she thought of it, she wasn’t sure there was ever a moment were one if not both of them weren’t touching her. Neither left her side as they led her through the reefs, showing her all the different kinds of fish and creatures around them. They swam beside manta rays three times their size and played with the curious dolphins who were braver than others. There was so much she didn’t know and was so excited to see a part of their world.

On top of their constant need to touch, Y/N would catch them both looking at her out of the corner of her eyes, their blue eyes glowing with a look she couldn’t quite place. It never filled her with concern, nothing seemed predatory involving them. Instead, it seemed to light something inside her, made her stomach flip and her heart race. She wasn’t sure if they realized whatever effect they had on her, but after the first hand full of times she caught them staring, they simply stopped caring. Their soft affections and heated looks made her feel like a school girl, giddy and bubbly at their attention. It must have been contagious, the two never stopped their own laughter and smiles. It was the first day in a long time she actually felt at peace. A large part of her never wanted this day to end.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed how the water parted beside her, and an arm slipped under her waist. A second body floated up beside her, the two smooth tails brushing against her thighs.

“What’cha thinking about?” Bucky mumbled, rubbing his nose against her cheek. Y/N giggled, scrunched her nose up at the soft touch. Another one of his tender affections to add to the tally. Bucky felt his heart beat faster at the sound. All day they were gifted with her smile, with the sound of a real laugh. He wanted to hear that forever, mixed in with Steve and his. He didn’t know how, but after today, he was determined to figure out a way.

“You two actually.” Y/N mumbled softly, a lazy smile spreading across her face. Steve swooped in, nestling his nose into her neck.

“All good, I hope?” He asked, the end of his voice wavering. It was soft, hardly there, but both heard the tone. Y/N was quick to reach out and pull him close, letting Bucky’s arm under her hold her up.

“Of course.” Y/N let out a breath, her fingers tangling in Steve’s hair. He let out a low rumble in the back of his throat, almost similar to a purr as her fingers dragged against the skin of his scalp.

Bucky’s tail bumped against her legs, carefully draping her legs over his lap while he floated beside them.

“Anything you want to share with the group?”  He wanted to press but knew it was a line he wasn’t wanting to toe. All day they both tired to do their best to distract her while getting to know her.

They learned more than they ever thought they would about her. Steve was more talkative of the two and managed to get out of her what her favorites were her hobbies and about her family, all while managing to avoid the topic of her ex, Taylor. She asked her own questions, interest in knowing who they were and what all they’ve experienced in their own lives. Somehow, they both managed to skim around the fact that they were mates, and that she was their final piece to their puzzle. It was hard, there were times when the light would hit her just right and Bucky wanted to scoop her into his arms, to kiss her senseless and admit everything. Steve wasn’t immune and fought his own desires to pull her against her chest and press his lips against her own. They both craved it, need it like the water they lived in, but they couldn’t move so quickly. Not yet at least.

Instead, they tried a different method, to get a feel of where she stood. Whenever they could, they would brush against her side, hold her hand or even pull her close. Not once did she mind their touches, she even seemed to melt into both of them. She never tried to get out of their grasp and would even reach out and hold on to one of them on her own. It spurred the two mermen to push more, which led them to where they were now. Cuddled up around her, floating beside the bungalow as the sun set behind them.

“I was just thinking about how this was the first time in a long time that I’ve been this happy.” She tilted her head up to Bucky, ignoring the water as it splashed up over her nose and mouth. It still caused her to twitch, but whatever their kiss had done, it no longer bothers her. “I had a lot of fun today. You’ve both shown me things I’ve only seen in pictures. Thank you, the both of you.”

Steve made a happy noise, his arm lazily wrapping around her waist. He gave her a gentle squeeze and sighed against her skin. Bucky chuckled and ducked down to press a lingering kiss against her temple.

“I’ve told you, you don’t have to thank us.” His eyes flitted over to Steve, whose own had slid shut where he was snuggled against her side. There was pang in his chest, his face faltering. He had to shake the dark thought away and ignore the little voice that told him things could never be. Y/N gently laid a hand on his face, pulling him back from where ever his thoughts took him.

“Bucky, where’d you go?” She whispered, frowning at how quickly his eyes darkened with sadness. Steve had leaned his head up, his piercing blue eyes watching Bucky carefully, his muscles poised at the ready to pull his mate close. Bucky let out a puff of air before he turned to nuzzled into her palm.

“It’s nothing.” He muttered. Y/N and Steve didn’t buy it, their expression was clear. Bucky laughed, and shook his head, smiling despite his doubts. “I promise, I’m just over thinking things.”

Y/N ran a thumb along his cheek, her brows pulled together. The look in his eyes was different than all the others she had seen today, distant and forlorn. It was like the light left him in an instant and went someplace very dark. Bucky pressed a kiss against her palm, that dark thought slipping away the longer he stared into her eyes. He traced every feature, taking in each detail and memorizing every line, and freckle. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear, a finger tracing along her cheekbone.

Steve watched how the two seemed magnetized by the other, how they were slowly leaning in and closing the distance with heavily lidded eyes. He felt no pang of jealousy, no desire to jump in and rip his mate away from Y/N. Why would he do that? Y/N was his mate just as Bucky was. While it might be odd for there to be more than one mate, it wasn’t unheard of for merfolk. They might be ferociously protective of others being close to their mate, but never with each other in a mated pair. It felt right, watching how they leaned into each other with Bucky inches from closing the distance between them. Steve absently rub circles on the skin of her waist, a lopsided grin on his face. He’d get his turn later.

Y/N hadn’t the faintest idea where this was coming from or why she wasn’t fighting this pull inside her. However, the longer she remained around these two, something in her called for her to lean in, to close the small distance between them. She could feel the heat of his breath against her lips, how cool his hand felt cupping her cheek and it sent her heart pounding in her chest. As her eyes lids slid shut, she felt his lips brush feather light against her own.

Bucky let out a soft groan, lashes fluttering shut. He shifts her in his arms to pull her flush against his chest. Y/N let out a startled gasp and wrapped her arms around his neck. Bucky chuckled low and leaned in, eager to close the gap.  _Finally,_  he thought.

“Well, what do we have here?”

Y/N jumped, squealing loudly at the new voice behind them. Bucky’s arm wrapped around her waist and held her tightly to his chest, snarling low in his chest. Steve flipped in the water with surprising grace, his teeth bared and hissing low. Y/N could just barely twist in Bucky’s grip to see the redhead from earlier grinning from ear to ear, and a new individual beside her. Natasha raised her arms in surrender.

“Oh please. You two don’t scare me,” Natasha smirked. The two mermen didn’t relax, Bucky still clutching Y/N to his chest. “I also see you two are still just as easy to scare with her around.”

Y/N bristled at her tone, frowning. She tried to shift in Bucky’s arms once again, but he held firm. He bent his head down to nuzzle his nose into her hair. No words were said in the gesture, yet with such a small menial touch Y/N felt herself instantaneously melt in his arms. In an answer to her relaxation, a deep rumble came from the back of Bucky’s throat. Bucky was irritated with Natasha sneaking up on them but was pleased to learn that he could soothe her as easily as he could to Steve. Yet another trick merfolk had up their sleeves.

“What do you want Natasha?” Steve bit out, moving protectively in front of both Bucky and Y/N. Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Oh, knock it off. I don’t plan on hurting her, and neither does Clint.” The mystery stranger waved awkwardly beside her. “We came to see how you three were doing. And this is how you thank us?”

“I think we were interrupting something, love.” Clint chuckled, his eyes darting between the three. His gaze lingered on Y/N longer than Steve was comfortable with. At the low snarl from the blonde, Clint followed his mate’s previous motions and raised his hands in surrender above the water. “My bad.”

Y/N might have relaxed, but she was starting to get irritated she was being talked about like she wasn’t there.

“Bucky.” She spoke softly. He glanced down at her, catching the edge to her tone. “Let me go. Please.”

Reluctantly, he let her slip off his lap and into the water. He was careful with the distance she put between them, his fingers curled around her arm. She let him, figuring he had some reason to be protective of her. Y/N turned to Natasha and Clint, who was watching the exchanged with matching grins.

“I’m sorry about them.” Y/N said, narrowing her eye at Steve when he spun around in the water to gape at her. “It’s nice to see you again Natasha. And you must be Clint?”

The brunette smiled wide, drifting as close as Steve would let them. “And you must be Y/N. Nat’s told me a little about you. I’m sorry about… Well, things. I will say, it’s nice to finally put a face to the name though.”

Bucky frowned, not wishing to bring up the past after such a good day. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. Y/N grumbled but let him and he rewarded her with a gentle kiss to the side of her temple.

“I think right now, she needs to go up and dry off a little. She’s been in the water too long and I can practically feel her fingers shriveling up.” He joked, nudging her to the deck. Y/N wanted to argue, but her stomach rumbled loudly against his hand. Bucky laughed, his shoulders shaking harder at how she pouted in his arms. “And she needs to eat.”

Natasha and Clint watched with calculative eyes as the two moved around Y/N, almost protecting her from them as they moved through the water. Steve swiftly took her from Bucky’s arms and similar to the day before, he wrapped her arms around his neck. Using strength Y/N could only marvel at, he grabbed the sides of the deck and pulled her up without breaking a sweat. He sat her down beside her, grinning widely.

“Go on, grab something to eat. We’ll be right here.” He nudged her to stand as Bucky pulled himself up out of the water beside Steve. Y/N reluctantly stood, glancing over to Natasha and Clint. They looked up at them uncertainly, not wanting to cross some line she didn’t understand.

“You two will play nice and let them come sit with us?” Y/N raised a brow, her hands rest on her hips. Steve sighed but smiled up at her. Bucky was a little more hesitant, but a sharp look from Y/N brought him around.

“Yeah, they can come up.” Bucky huffed, nodding for the two to pull themselves up to the other side of the deck. Natasha and Y/N exchanged a look of amusement before Y/N turned to the kitchen. 

Walking over to the fridge, she paused at a manila folder sitting innocently on the counter. Y/N frowned. That wasn’t there earlier. Maybe Maria dropped them off when she left the second time. Glancing over her shoulder, she flipped open the folder and wished she hadn’t.

The four on the deck were talking quietly amongst themselves, Steve leaning back on his arms close to Bucky’s side. Natasha had snuggled up to Clint and was laughing at something Clint muttered under his breath when they heard a sob. All four heads snapped to the kitchen. Steve and Bucky twisted around, panic filling them. Y/N was hunched over the counter, shaking where she stood.

“Y/N?” Steve called out.

Y/N didn’t answer, she couldn’t answer. Her stomach felt like it plummeted to her feet. She struggled to take in a shuddering breath, trying to stop the rage and turmoil that swirled inside her. The words on those papers couldn’t be true, there’s no way someone was that evil. She hadn’t realized she collapsed, clutching her sides. She thought she heard something dragging behind her, but she couldn’t tell over the sound of her blood rushing in her head.

This couldn’t be real, there was no way this was possible. How could she be so stupid? How did she not see the signs? How did it never cross her mind that she wasn’t the only one?


	13. Chapter 12

Sucking in air, Taylor struggled to keep his nerves from showing outwardly. Brown eyes darted around the room, shifting from foot to foot while he took in his surroundings. He always hated being in the same room as a cop, made his skin crawl. The fact that he found him once again in a precinct set his teeth on edge. 

He hated this. But they asked him to come in for questioning once again, and he knew that he couldn’t say no. That would be too suspicious. Hence, that’s where Taylor found himself, shifting uneasily at the entrance of a police precinct, surrounded by cops and detectives with his nerves in tatters. This whole thing was taking longer to get done and over with. All he desperately wanted was to get off this godforsaken island.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the front desk where a woman sat engrossed in whatever was on her computer screen. Dressed head to toe in her uniform, it looked like she got the short straw of secretary and was stewing in her frustration. She didn’t even glance his way when he approached, typing away on her keyboard. He supposed she was pretty, in a traditional sort of way. She wasn’t exactly his type, to begin with, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t able to charm her if he tried. Taylor cleared his throat to which the woman paused with a brow raised.

“Can I help you?” She said with a touch irritation, turning to face him. She inhaled sharply when she laid eyes on Taylor, her eyes widening a fraction. As if he already didn’t have a big enough ego, he knew he was attractive and love the effect he had on women. Her irritation melted away, and she smiled warmly up at him, batting her eyelashes for an extra effect. Taylor smirked, shifting forward to lean up against the desk.

“I sure hope you can.” He purred, his smirk growing wide her when she followed suit to lean forward eagerly. He didn’t try to be discrete, slowly trailing his eyes down the length of her body. “I was called by a Detective Carter and I was hoping you could help point me in the right direction.”

There was a flash of recognition in the woman, her eyes twitching before she smoothed it over. She reached for a file on her desk behind her, turning her back to him for less than a second. Taylor could only guess she recognized him, but he hoped she wasn’t smart enough to think anything of his behavior. Just because his fiancé was ‘missing’ didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to flirt around.  

He kept his smirk in place, hoping not to give away anything before she turned back to him. She returned his smile with tight lips, her grip tight on the thin folder.

“Of course. Follow me please.” She pushed her chair back and walked around the desk, motioning for him to follow. Taylor’s stuffed his hands in his pockets, glancing around the hallways as she led him towards the back. Around him, things were working smoothly, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was no clue as to why he was called here, and a quick survey of the open floor plan gave nothing away.

The officer led him down a hall lined with doors, some open, but most closed. His unease was growing the longer they walked, going up a flight of stairs into another room. Desks were clustered together, once again filled with detectives that seemed too engrossed in their own work to even glance his way. Good, he thought. The less attention the better.

Stopping a few feet from a desk, the woman told him to have a seat in one of the empty desk chairs. Taylor didn’t fuss, and sank into the uncomfortable leather, watching as the woman walked over to a desk with a detective and what appeared to be two civilians sitting across from her. She leaned in to whisper to the detective, a pretty thing with blonde hair, passing the folder to her open hands. The blonde stopped, nodding to whatever the officer whispered into her ear, glancing over to where Taylor sat. Thanking the officer, she dismissed her and turned back to the two civilians.

“Detective Carter is still taking another case statement but will be right with you.” The officer stopped in front of her, her voice short. “You can get something to drink in the break room if you’d like, but don’t go too far. She’s almost done.”

Taylor thanked the woman, watching her leave out of the corner of his eyes. He let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into the seat. Twisting the chair around, he eyed the two civilians sitting with the detective. 

There was nothing remarkable about either of them, an older man that sported a peculiar eyepatch and a younger woman with brown hair twisted up into a bun. The both had grim looks on their faces, and Taylor wondered what they were here for. Det. Carter was absorbed in the conversation, her brows pinched together while she wrote out the statements, occasionally nodding to whatever they were saying. He was too far to hear what they were saying but she appeared to be a little irritated with the two.

It wasn’t much longer before she set her pen down with a sigh. Det. Carter rubbed her temples, saying something before she stood. The man and woman followed suit, the man shaking the detective’s hand. 

Taylor sat taller when they turned and headed towards him, tensing at the look in their eyes. It was like they knew something about him, but that was impossible. They didn’t know him, they had no clue who he was. So why did his blood pressure skyrocket and his muscles tense at the look in their eyes? He couldn’t relax, not until they disappeared around the corner to the stairs.

“Mr. Hoffman. I’m glad you could come.” Taylor ripped his gaze away from the stairs, blinking up at the detective that stood before him. Her posture was less than welcoming, hip cocked to the side with her fist resting on her hip while her other arm had a thick file tucked underneath. Taylor took in a deep breath and tried to smile, switching gears.

“Well, you said it was concerning my missing fiancé. Of course, I’d come.” He replied coolly. “Although, I’m a little confused. What happened to Det. Sanchez?”

“Sanchez had something come up with his family and needed someone to take over his case. That someone is me.” She answered, sticking her hand out in front of him. “Sharron Carter. I’ve read up on everything about this case, and I hope I can help you find your fiancé.”

Taylor hesitated before he reached up to shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstance.” He sighed sadly. Sharon’s eye’s narrowed at his sudden change but bit her tongue.

“Of course.” She remarked. She pulled out the folder and flipped it open. Her eyes scanned the documents for a moment before she snapped it shut. “There’s a new development, but I want to make sure it’s a positive lead before I get your hopes up. If you’d follow me I can get you on your way.”

Taylor’s didn’t let it show how his palms started sweating. He nodded numbly and stood. Det. Carter led him through the maze of halls once again, his jaw clenching the further they went. She led him to a door with a plaque label ‘Interrogation Room C’ and his hands started shaking. There was no way they had proof, no way any of them knew the truth. He was an expert at this, he knew what he was doing and covered all the tracks. 

Det. sharon paused with her hand on her handle. Taylor kept his face schooled to show nothing when really all he wanted was to bolt out the building. She searched for something on his face but showed nothing if she found what she was looking for. Det. Carter swung the door open and led him inside to the table. Taylor tensed, thinking it was all over until he saw what was in the room, and it was like a breath of fresh air.

* * *

 

Fury sat outside with his back facing precinct in the little park across the street. Mariah was off doing what she needed to do, the second part of their plan, leaving him to wait for Sharon to finish inside. He missed seeing the sights and sound of the little city on the island but was glad he had a place to escape. Sitting here brought back all his memories for the past, the good but also the bad he tried to suppress. He couldn’t wait to get out and go back to his little island.

He busied himself with people watching, keeping his mind sharp in spite of his advancing age. He didn’t turn when Sharon settled beside him, ignoring her long sigh of irritation. The silence stretched between them, watching the men and women passing by through the park with little interest. Sharon caved first and let out another sigh before she leaned back against the wooden back.

“You were right.”

Fury chuckled, scratching his chin. “Right about what?”

“His reaction.” She said in a matter of fact tone. She hated the games the ex-detective so loved to play with her. “He reacted exactly how you said he would.”

“And how was that?” Fury asked, smirking. Sharon huffed, glaring at him beside her but continued on.

“He was relieved. He tried to hide it, but I saw it on his face when he walked through the door. He kept trying to play it off like the sad worried significant other, but apparently, he flirted with Jamie first thing through the door. When he walked in and saw the items on the table, he wasn’t remorseful or even slightly upset. He was relieved.”

Fury nodded, not asking any further questions, and reached into his pocket to pull out a cigar. Sharon watched him, floored by the level of indifference he had concerning this. It was one of the biggest cases she ever took over and he was acting like it was nothing. He came in with case altering evidence, and yet he wasn’t slightly fazed with what it meant.

“How did you know he’d react that way?”

Fury shrugged, taking a long deep drag from the cigar. “Just a feeling I had.”

“You found her clothes!” Sharon snapped, her irritation having reached its breaking point. “You found her clothes in the middle of the goddamn ocean, bloodied and torn to shreds. Instead of calling us, which by the way I could arrest you for tampering with evidence, you brought them to the precinct with Maria in tow. Then you force me to call the victim-.”

“Supposed victim.” Fury interrupted. Sharon frowned, but otherwise ignore his quip.

“And told me exactly how he’d react. On top of it all, you know more than you’re leading on. Which again, I can arrest you for!”

Fury snorted, grinning widely at the thought while he tapped the butt off his cigar. He took a puff, clenching it between his teeth.

“You can try. You and I both know you won’t though.”

Sharon’s face twisted with frustration. Despite how aggravating he was, she knew Fury was right. She refrained from laying into him, biting her tongue.

“Fine. I won’t. But you need to tell me what you know.”  

“And I told you, I know nothing.” He replied so calmly, Sharon almost believed him. She was smarter than that though. “All I know is what we found, and figured it was a part of the missing person case. Clearly, that was the right assumption.”

Appearing from thin air, Maria placed a hand on Fury’s shoulder.

“Wondered where you went.” He grumbled, putting out the cigar on the park bench. Sharon narrowed her eyes at the ash and burnt wood, once again biting her tongue. Maria rolled her eyes and jerked her chin to a car.

“I had a few things I needed to pick up. Ready to leave whenever you are.” She stopped and turned to Sharon, smiling warmly at the blonde woman. “Sorry, he’s such an ass. It’s was good to see you again Sharon.”

Sharon returned her smile with a tight grin. She’d never understood the relationship between these two, Maria appearing suddenly in his life almost overnight. It was right around the time Fury quit the precinct. That in of itself was an entire debacle. At least Maria was kind and seemed to genuinely care for Fury. After all, she put up with the man.

“You too Maria.”

Fury stood with a groan, his bones popping as he stood. Sharon swiftly followed but didn’t pull attention to his pain. He’d only get more irritating if she pointed it out, which honestly, she had no patience for.

“Well, detective. I hope you figure things out. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t let him leave until you find a body, dead or alive.” Fury patted the blonde’s back, giving her his trademark smirk. Once again, Sharon questioned her loyalty to the man. “Tell your partner- what’s his name?”

“Coulson.” Sharon snickered. Fury snapped his finger, grinning wider.

“Right. Nice guy, shame he wasn’t here. Tell him we stopped by and said hi.”

Sharon laughed and nodded, waving to the two as they walked towards their car. Fury might be a pain half the time, and it was quite clear he was hiding something, but he really did mean well. In time, she figured he’d come clean. For now, she could only watch as they drove away, shoving aside that voice in her head that told her there was so much more to this than she thought.


	14. Chapter 13

Y/N clutched her head, sucking in air as she felt like the world was closing in around her. Her sobs tore through her chest, and her blood was deafening as it rushed through her head. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, those files helped push her over the edge. She felt like she was drowning once again, and had no way of finding the surface.

At first glance, she had no idea what they were. The first few pages were of photocopies of I.D.s and licenses of men with different names, from different states. Most had different hair colors, different hairstyles or facial hair. Yet something seemed familiar of him. Then she recognized his eyes, and everything clicked. Staring back at her was a collection of Taylor’s aliases, his fake identities he used across the world.

Her hands were already starting to shake when she flipped over the last copy of I.D.s, and she felt the floor shoot out from under her. She only read the first page of several, but it was enough. A woman stares up at her, with her wide happy smile under a similar headline. She was missing, disappeared after a trip with her fiancé. Worse yet, it was like Y/N was staring straight in a mirror. The woman looks like her, right down to her bone structure. The horror of what Taylor was, what he’d done, hit her like a freight train. The impact knocked her to knees, and all she could do was cling to herself as she cried out in agony.

How could she be so stupid, so naïve? She trusted this man with her heart, mind, and soul. It seemed she wasn’t the first to do so either, however, she was the first to survive. The thought that there were more before her made her sick, her stomach churning. As she dug her fingernails into her skin, she couldn’t stop thinking of all the others, however many there were that suffered a worse fate that she did. If he was still walking free, then it was clear he succeeded in what he was out to do to them. Except not with her. She survived, and it was all short of a miracle.

Said miracles heard her cries through the open door, all four wiping around at sound. Natasha and Clint didn’t move, their eyes snapping to Steve and Bucky in anticipation.  They were her mate, and neither were foolish enough to get between a mer and their other half. The two mermen froze, both thrown off by her sudden change. They left her happy and smiling, all she was doing was getting something to eat a short few feet from them. What could have happened in such short of a time?

Steve reacted first, his body catching up before he could process things. He dragged himself through the living room and into the kitchen where Y/N had collapsed. It wasn’t something he needed to think about anyways. His mate was distressed, she was hurting, and he had to make sure she was safe, his own wellbeing be damned.

Bucky wasn’t as fast, his heart stuck in his throat. He wanted to react like his mate, he wanted to be there and comfort Y/N but for some reason, his muscles wouldn’t move. It was like he turned to stone, afraid to breathe as he listened to her wails of despair bounce off the walls of the small bungalow. Watching Steve pull himself through the ground, willing to risk his life to cradle her close pulled at something in Bucky. It didn’t take him long to realize it was shame. He still hadn’t made a move to comfort her, made no effort to crawl to their side. Instead, he stayed frozen in his spot.

Steve paid him no mind, focus on Y/N. she hadn’t even acknowledged him there, her cries no different as he wrapped her up in his arms. Nothing he seemed to be doing was working either. He bent his neck and nuzzled his nose against her cheek, whispering to her that she was safe and alive. It had no effect.

“Y/N. Baby, I need to you to breathe, please.” Steve begged, his voice cracking in panic. She wasn’t responding, her cries still as hysterical as they were before. He tried more, smoothing down her hair while tightening his hold on her waist. She only wailed louder, nails digging into her skin deeper.

Steve was so wrapped up in trying to calm her, to soothe her fears somehow, he ignored how his chest was painfully constriction. It didn’t register that he was finding it harder and harder to breathe; like someone had an iron grip around his throat and was squeezing the air from his lungs. Nothing else mattered except making sure he calmed his mate. He clung to her, whispering softly to her in hopes she’d calm, and his breath grew shorter and farther between.

“Hey Y/N I saw the light on and figured we could eat din-Shit! What the hell?!”

Steve’s struggled to lift his head, rolling it to the side to see the blurry form of Maria throwing a bag on the counter. She jumped over his tail, running to a cabinet to drag out a giant pot.

“What the fuck is going on here?!” She shouted, filling the pot in the sink to the brim. The other mers sitting on the deck could only watch on in fright while Maria threw the pot of water over Steve’s graying tail. It had little effect, but it gave them time for the scales to soak up the water before drying all over again.

Y/N flinched at the cold water, pulling her back into the real world. She blinked through her tears, trying to stop from hyperventilating. Something wasn’t right. She shifted on what she thought was the ground, but it didn’t feel right. Taking a deep breath, she tried to collect herself and inhaled a familiar smell. She pulled back, sniffling loudly. Her eyes widened from shock, a gasp leaving her lips at the sight of an ashen Steven struggling to breathe in front of her.

“Y/N!” Maria shrilled, rushing to rip her from his arms to stand. “He needs water!”

Y/N nodded numbly, following Maria’s lead to pull Steve from the kitchen back to the deck. She puffed, straining under his weight. He was so much lighter in the water, Y/N mused. When did he get out the water? Better yet, why was he so willing to risk his life for hers?

Y/N could tell she was starting to panic again, her heart pounding in her chest and her vision tunneling. They had made it to the living room, the deck less than a few feet away. Now wasn’t the time for her to focus on the what and why. Shoving aside all anxiety and panic away, she grunted and tugged him to the deck.

Somewhere during the struggle, Bucky snapped out of his daze. It wasn’t often his mate would do something reckless, even if it was for his other mate, but this was a whole separate level. Any longer out of the water and Steve would die. Bucky’s instinct kicked in, and he felt his lip pullback in a vicious snarl.

“Don’t you fucking hiss at me right now,” Maria growled right back, her eyes flashing dangerously. Bucky paused, frowning at the familiarity in her look. “Help me pull him back in the water!”

Bristling at her tone, Bucky would have told her no if it wasn’t his mate she was fighting to pull over the threshold of the door. He gritted his teeth and dragged his body across the wooden deck, reaching for Y/N’s ankle. She squeaked in surprise, turning her head to Bucky.

“You pull him further out and I’ll start to pull him under his arms.” Y/N nodded, and both she and Maria gave a tug to drag Steve’s hips over the doorway. Bucky slipped an arm around Steve’s torso and began pulling himself back with his free arm. Steve’s head rolled back against Bucky’s shoulder, his breath labored. Bucky felt the terror mounting and could only think of how he couldn’t lose Steve. Not now, not after finding their other half. So, he pulled with all his strength, determined not to let his idiot mate die. Not like this.

With his burst of energy, It was clear Bucky was much stronger than the two women, one pull of his arms dragging them further than either woman could do on their own. Maria looked over his tails and fins, frowning at how quickly he was discoloring.

“Y/N grab the end of his tail. We’ll pull him out and then the tail around.”

Y/N nodded and followed Maria’s order. She let Steve’s arm go and stepped back into the living room to gather his fins to keep from tearing on the doorframe. She frowned at the texture. It wasn’t smooth or cool to the touch like before. Instead, it was dry as a bone and turning a funny shade of gray and blue. How long was he out of the water?

Before she could dwell on the thought, Bucky was already at the edge and returning his tail back to the waiter. Maria helped Y/N with pulling the rest of his tail around.

“We don’t have time to be graceful. Jump in.” Maria once again commanded, but no one was going to argue. Bucky nodded and pushed off, taking Steve with a splash.

Natasha watched with bated breath, clutching to Clint’s arm. She might have been pod mates with the two growing up, but you never get between two mers and their mates. It was surprising that Maria wasn’t ripped to shreds for touching Steve in such a state. But whatever she did, however, she acted towards Bucky put him in his place. She shook her head and bit her lip. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

While Natasha and Clint exchanged glances, Y/N and Maria were hanging over the edge of the water. Y/N had dropped to her knees, tears once again filling her eyes at the sight of the two mermen she had become so fond of looked blurred in the dark waters. The sun had already set, and she could hardly make out their shapes in the darkness. The only light she had to go on was the light from the kitchen filtering through the open doors. It wasn’t forgiving and only gave her their silhouettes at the bottom of the ocean.

“Why the hell was he out of the water?” Maria pressed, her voice short. Y/N flinched, shrinking her frame. She was the reason after all. All because of her fucking ex that couldn’t seem to leave her alone, even after he tried to kill her. 

A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder, Maria seeing the pain the woman was in. Instead of using a harsher tone, Maria used a gentler approach. “Y/N? What happened?”

Through a sob, Y/N told her about the folder. She said what was in it caused her to spiral. She didn’t even realize it. Steve must have crawled out to comfort her. But why though?

“Why? Why did he get out of the water?” Y/N wept, burying her face in her hands. “I’m not worth this.”

Maria’s felt her heart break at her broken question. She glanced over to Natasha, who had moved out of Clint’s arms. She had a pained expression, her heart going out to the sobbing woman. Did she really think so little of herself? Gently, Maria guided her into the mermaid’s arm, who cradled her close and went in search of the folder.

Sitting inconspicuously by Maria’s discarded bag of food was the folder. The whole reason she and Fury went to the precinct. The clothes they ‘found’ were just a poly. 

They needed an excuse to tap into the system and see if Taylor had any known aliases. Fortunately, Phil Coulson was there. He was reluctant, but after flashing a few old school rare comic cards his way in exchange, he was quick to break. He slipped out before they showed up, claiming he had to run out and get something for the wife before a store closed. Sharon was a good detective, but sometimes she was too by the books. None of the police thought it was foul play, but clearly, they were wrong.

Maria could have sworn she left that up at the main house on the table. She didn’t think Fury would be stupid enough to bring it in and drop it off without warning Y/N first. Yet again, the man did what he wanted without consulting with her. Maria had to take a deep breath to tamp down her rage. That man got her last nerves, and one day he was going to get his ass handed to him because of it.

She closed the folder and slowly turned to step back to the deck, folder in hand. The two mermen were still underwater, no doubt Steve needed a while to recover from that feat in the kitchen. It would help him too if he had both mates by his side as his body return to normal. Maria crouched beside Y/N, who had stopped her sobs and was softly sniffling in Natasha’s arms.

“I know this isn’t the right time for this, but you need to go down there,” Maria spoke softly, tucking a stray hair behind Y/N’s ear. Y/N turned to look up at Maria, her brows pinched together in confusion.

“Wh-why?” She asked with a shaky voice. Maria sighed, glancing up at Natasha. Natasha gave a simple jerk of her chin, but it was enough for Maria to understand. They hadn’t told her yet.

“It’ll just help if you’re there. They’ve been protective and supportive of you. Now’s your chance to make it up to them a little.”

Y/N considered her comments for a second, slowly sitting up from Natasha’s arms. She nodded slowly at first, then more vigorously the longer the thought of it.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re right. They were there for me. And it’s only fair. Steve almost died because of me.”

Maria smiled widely. “That a girl. Need help getting down?”

Y/N shook her head, scooting to the edge of the deck. Before she could push off the edge, Maria’s voice stopped her short. She held up the folder, her face serious.

“When this is done, and Steve’s got his color back, you need to tell them. Everything.” Maria said with finality. “They deserve to know what happened.”

Y/N didn’t respond, still facing the water. She knew it would be pointless to argue. She’d been buying time for what? Only to learn she wasn’t the only women and that she was dealing with an evil far greater than she imagined. To top it all off, one of her miracle saviors put his life on the line below hers. She knew she’d have to tell them. Maria was right.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N gave Maria a sharp nod and pushed off the deck. There was a flash of déjà vu, plunging into the cool darkness of the water. Only this time, she was in control and she wasn’t ever going to let that bastard hurt her or the people in her life again.


	15. Chapter 14

Someone was following him. He didn’t know who, he hadn’t seen anyone but ever since he went to the damn police station it felt like he was constantly being watched.

Shooting another nervous glance over his shoulder, Taylor ducked inside the little corner convenience store in hopes of escape. The little bell chimed when he entered, and an associate greeted him from the counter. He ignored the man and wandered off to the furthest corner of the store, hiding away behind the shelves. His heart pounded in his ears, and he struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat. Someone was following him.

Mindlessly looking through the isles, he kept casting glances towards the doors, just waiting for someone to walk through the door.

“Can I help you find anything?”

Taylor nearly flew out of his skin, swearing loudly. The associate had meandered his way to the back and was silent at his approach behind him. Taylor struggled to keep his breathing level, blinking rapidly. Swallowing loudly, he shook his head.

“No, I’m good. Thanks.”

The associate shrugged and turned away, shuffling his feet as he went. Taylor let out a breath of air and turned back to the door. No one had yet to come in, and after twenty minutes in the store, he figured it was safe as ever to step back outside.

His eyes darted around the street when he stepped out the door, squinting in the blinding light. However, like always he saw no one that stood out. There was no prickle at the back of his neck, his hairs no longer standing on end, and he assumed he lost whoever was tailing him. His phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling his thoughts back to the present. He didn’t have to glance at his phone to know who it was.

“Hey, baby.” He purred, a sly smile slipping across his face.

“Where’d you go?” Was the short reply. He chuckled and shoved a free hand in his pocket.

“I had to go out, you know that. Can’t let them think I’m not doing my part.”

The woman on the other end huffed, frustrated.

‘’I don’t understand what the big deal is. That fisherman found her clothes. Why the hell are we still here?”

Taylor sighed and stopped at a crosswalk. He stared blankly at the red hand, biting down his own aggravation.

“You know they won’t let me leave until they finish their investigation. I can’t without raising a few eyebrows. I have to stay, we’ve been over this. I can’t get the money until I get the report saying she’s dead. You do this every time.”

The woman whined but didn’t argue further. “Well fine. Whatever. When are you coming back?”

“Soon, baby.” He chuckled stepping out when the walking signal changed. He paused, his words caught in his throat. That feeling was back, someone was watching him again. He tried to control his breathing, to keep the panic from welling up. This wasn’t supposed to happen like this. His head was ringing, drowning out the voice on the other end of the phone.

“Taylor? Taylor, what’s wrong?” The woman hissed. Taylor took in a shuddering breath, shaking his head to clear it.

“Sorry. I-I’m still here. I gotta go though. I’ll talk to you later.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, cutting her off with a click of the button. He stood at the corner, searching hunting for whomever it was that was staring him down. However, like all the times before, there was no one out of the ordinary.

With his skin crawling in fear, he turned and headed back towards the hotel, gritting his teeth. He was getting tired of this. He did everything right, nothing was out of the ordinary. It seemed even in her death that bitch was haunting him still. Growling, he kept his head down. Just a few more days, he repeated, and this will all be over.

* * *

Y/N rolled over in her bed, blearily looking around the room. The memory of last night came flooding back to her. Steve nearly dying and her finding out that she wasn’t the only victim. Something shifted in the two mermen last night after she jumped in the water too. It was so intimate, she almost felt intruding on them when she sank down beside him.

_Bucky had Steve wrapped up in his arms, his forehead pressed against Steve’s. He looked to be muttering something under his breath, brows furrowed with concentration. When Y/N swam up beside them, Bucky didn’t even flinch. Steve was still unresponsive, his eyes closed as if he was in a deep sleep. His skin hadn’t changed; it remained that sickly white as well. The most concerning part though; his gills remained still and lifeless. Not even a breath._

_Y/N hesitantly reached out and placed a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. He stopped moving his lips, slowly tilting his head towards Y/N. He seemed to relax at the sight of her and stuck out an arm to invite her in. She nestled into his side, biting on her lip at the sight of Steve to keep her tears at bay._

_Bucky nuzzled in her neck, rumbling low in his chest in hopes to soothe her too. She felt him take a deep breath and turn back to Steve. He pressed his forehead against Steve’s and began to chant once again. The language and words were lost on her, it was drowned out in the water and silent to her ears, nevertheless, it was like a second sense to her. She had a slight idea of what was said, what he was begging for Steve to do. He wanted Steve to breathe once again, just as she did._

_There was a tug, a little voice that told her to reach out in some way to Steve. She didn’t fight the voice, giving in to the pull. Bucky felt her fingers brush against his cheek before she cupped Steve’s face. He paused mid-chant to brush a kiss against her fingers before returning to his words._

_Y/N’s heart fluttered at the touch. A timid smile spread on her face. The tug was back, stronger than before, and she listened to the call to wrap her arm around Steve’s neck and press her face into his neck. She didn’t know where this was coming from, she didn’t understand why she was giving in to that little voice, but she didn’t care. It felt right, lord above did It feel right to press herself between them. Unconsciously she brushed her lips against Steve’s gills, still unaware of what the little action meant. To her, she just hoped she could pour some of her life back into Steve’s._

_Bucky felt his breath catch, and his heart swelling at the sight. Y/N didn’t know what her action meant, but he followed her suit and peppered kisses along the column of Steve’s neck. He never really understood the magic he and his people had. There was so much even they didn’t know about themselves and were learning about every day._

_The chant, it was meant to bring Steve back. But the words didn’t work, nothing was helping his mate breathe again. He was losing hope, seconds away from letting go of his tight control over his emotions. He wanted to cry, to beg for Steve to come back and he was so close to snapping. Suddenly Y/N swam up beside him, with her worried expression breaking his heart even further. He didn’t realize how much he wanted her there, hoping she would center him in his hardest time. She nestled into his side, and it was like a switch flipped on inside him. Bucky began his words again, stronger vigor than before, renewed hope and drive to bring his mate back._

_Then she touched Steve willingly. Without even batting an eyelash, she reached out to him first, curling her fingers around his face. Her eyes were like a window to her soul and he saw how deeply she cared, and how his pain was her own. He didn’t know what told him to follow her lead, but he wasn’t going to argue with that little voice. It never let him down before._

_At the first touch of his lips against Steve’s skin, there was nothing. Not even a twitch. But that changed when Y/N tighten her hold around Steve’s. She yanked her head back, eyes wide in shock when she felt the flutter of his gills. Tears sprang up to her eyes, even under the water. Bucky froze as well, looking up to Y/N with the same awe. He felt it too._

_Neither moved, worried if they did, Steve would slip back into unconsciousness. Fate didn’t seem to wish for that either. His gills fluttered again, opening and closing to let the water in he so desperately needed._

_Steve’s eyes flew open with a shuddering spasm, all his muscles ceasing from the force behind his strangled gasps. His bright blue eyes were clouded with fright, his face twisting into an expression of agony. Everything about his expression screamed how terrified he was, he didn’t know where he was. His tail thrashed against the sands, kicking up clouds of sand, which only served to panic him further. He clawed at Bucky’s back and clung tightly to Y/N’s with an iron grip. She flinched at the strength behind his grip but didn’t try to pry him loose._

_Bucky bent down said something too him, once again lost to Y/N in the water while he curled his fingers into Steve’s hair. Steve’s chest heaved, his eyelids sliding closed to concentrate on whatever Bucky was whispering to him. She could almost see his pulse in his neck slow, relaxing into the other mermans arms._

_They seemed to have forgotten she was there, Bucky and Steve in their own world. Bucky could barely contain his joy, choking back a sob while he whispered words of reassurance to Steve. He was safe, he was alive, it was okay. Steve tilted his face up towards Bucky with a slack jaw and Bucky held him tighter. Y/N felt Steve’s grip loosen on her hip, letting her slip from his fingers. Neither seemed to notice as she moved out of their way, her stomach flipping at the way the curled into the other._

_This was too intimate, she felt intruding the longer she lingered. Bucky’s hair swirled around their faces in a halo and the sand was settling in the water around them. Through the strands of his hair, Bucky had gently titled Steve’s chin back and pressed their lips together in a tender kiss. She gasped softly, her cheeks heating up. Before she thought there might be something between the two of them. Her heart lurched, and it stung seeing the proof first hand. Pushing aside her feelings, feeling she didn’t even seem to understand yet, she floated back to give them room._

_She made it to the ladder, her fingers wrapped around the rungs and still, neither seemed to notice she swam away. Looking over the two of them with a bit of unhidden yearning, she pulled herself up the ladder and out of the water._

_Natasha and Clint were still sitting on the edge. They didn’t move when she pulled her self up the deck. Natasha caught the look on Y/N’s face. All she offered the two mers on the deck was a tight smile and the reassurance that Steve was alive before she stumbled inside the bungalow. They flinched at the harsh slam behind Y/N and exchanged a look with each other._

Y/N let out a sigh and shifted to sit up on the edge of her bed, groaning softly. She rubbed her temple before she slowly pushed herself off the bed, her body creaking as she stood. As much as she wanted to lay in bed and do nothing all day, she knew she couldn’t. Well, she could, but she wasn’t going to let herself wallow in her self-pity.

She stopped into the bathroom, flinching at the sight of herself in the mirror before she walked to the kitchen in search of food. Y/n paused, spotting the yellow folder sitting innocently on the coffee table in the living room. Glaring at the papers, she ignored them to go into the kitchen and started making herself something to eat, stewing in the sudden mounting rage.

That bastard really had no care for anyone else in the world but himself. He had to go hunting down other women, and for what? It was still a question she wasn’t sure she’d have the answer to and a big part of her didn’t want to know. She just wanted to go back home and live her life like it was before she met that monster.

Y/N stopped, her fork midway to her mouth when it hit her. She could probably never go home. Not with Taylor still out freely running around. He wanted her dead. And she doubted he’d stop until he finished the job. Suddenly no longer hungry, she pushed the plate of food away and leaned back in her chair.

From where she sat, she could still see the folder on the table, could still see the words in bold printed on the images. The many faces of Taylor- the monster that haunted her nightmares. It was a restless sleep, her tossing and turning until she exhausted herself enough to slip into a fitful sleep. How did her life become so fucked up she couldn’t even escape her living nightmare?

Shakily, she stood, her gaze held fast on the folder. She stopped beside the table, fist clenched at her side. All she wanted was to throw the damn thing in the ocean and move on. It wouldn’t do much, but it would make her feel better. Clenching the folder tightly, she turned to the sliding glass doors to do just that and froze.

Bucky and Steve had their backs to the door, watching the sunrise over the horizon. Sensing her staring, Steve turned first. When he saw Y/N standing immobile in the living room, a smile spread across his face. She took in a ragged breath, her eyes darting over to Bucky, who turned as well. She tightened her grip on the folder, unintentionally pulling their attention to her hand. Steve’s smile slipped from his face. That was the cause of Y/N’s turmoil last night, the root of the reason why he almost died.

Maria’s words rang in her head, bouncing around in her mind. She had to tell them, they deserved that much. She didn’t want to, she was so ashamed of how easily she fell for Taylor’s charm. But they had seen her, saw how broken she was.  

There was no point in hiding it. To keep them in the dark, after they were so clearly willing to put their life on the line for her would be like a kick in the gut. Despite feeling like a third wheel the night before, she knew she owed them an explanation at least. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for the inevitable and crossed the room to the set of doors where the pair patiently waited, their eyes never leaving hers.


	16. Chapter 15

Sharon slipped into the booth with a loud huff of air her body sinking into the cool vinyl. Phil paused mid-chew, knowing what that sound meant when it came out of his partner. He finished eating and quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“You find anything new?”

Sharon shook her head and waved down the waitress. She was frustrated, tired, and hungry. She needed a cup of coffee before she did anything else.

“Nothing worth mention in the report.” She grumbled. The waitress, a young woman named Andrea, must have read Sharon’s thoughts and walked over with a new cup and a pot of coffee. “Thank you.” Andrea nodded, smiling softly at the blonde before going off to her other tables.

“So, we still have nothing new to go off?” Phil sighed.

“Kind of. I saw him on the phone with someone. He looked rather happy to hear whoever was on the other end but then seemed to get irritated.” She shrugged, taking a sip from her black coffee. “If we can figure out who he was talking to, then we might be able to find a new lead.”

“So you really think he killed his fiancé?” Phil questioned, his hand falling to the folder that sat on booth beside him. He had his own hunch, but he didn’t think Hoffman killed his fiancé. Sharon shrugged, her forehead crinkling in frustration.

“I’m not sure what I think at this point anymore. He’s not showing the usual signs that a victim shows when their loved one goes missing. He’s not pressing for any search parties, not constantly calling and irritating us for any new leads; nothing. He’s polite and respectful whenever he comes in, but he never seemed truly upset. It always bothered me, but I had no reason to believe it might be him. Except then Fury came in and threw in it all out of whack.” She growled, chugging the rest of the liquid. She didn’t even flinch at the hot drink, scowling as she set the mug down.

Phil let out a soft hum. He picked up the and thumbed at the edges. When Maria came into the precinct, he knew there was going to be trouble. Where ever she went, trouble followed, and it was always an eye-opening experience for everyone involved. So, when she asked him to pull up some files and information as she could about Hoffman, he was intrigued. Sharon glanced up from the mug, eyeing the folder.

“What’s that?”

Phil sighed and passed over the folder. “Something that I think might help you build a case against him.”

Sharon gasped, flipping through the papers completely dumbfounded. Was she really reading this right?

“I agree with you. Something with him is off.” Phil turned back to his plate, letting her take it all in while he finished eating breakfast. Silence filled the small booth, Andrea coming by only once to refill their drinks without a word. She knew the detectives, and could tell Sharon was seconds away from a freakout. 

Sharon’s mouth fell open, her eyes going wide in horror at the images and words on the paper. Questions were raised, the first being how did they never find this info on him before. She was floored. 

Phil had felt the same way the first time he read it. He could see her rage growing, and hid a grin behind his mug, sinking back in his seat to wait for the outburst that was about to take place. Sharon took in a deep breath, her facing turning red as her mouth twisted into a scowl.

“What the fucking hell is this shit?!”

* * *

Bucky felt his stomach tighten at the way Y/N warily stepped across the deck, and how she uncomfortable she seemed looking between the two of them. His eyes traveled down to the folder in her hands, eyeing it with interest. She had it clutched between her fingers, the importance of the thing clearly troubling her. Hoping to ease her discomfort, he made room between Steve and him, reaching out with an open hand in her direction. Y/N’s eyes fell to his beckoning hand, her brows pinched together in deep thought.

“Good morning doll.” He greeted with a low gravely voice. He and Steve had just woken up themselves moment before. After Steve regained his breathing, they had turned to Y/N, wanting to pull her in between them. When they turned and saw she was gone, it was like a chunk was torn from their hearts. They didn’t know what they could have done to scare her off, Bucky didn’t recall ever pushing her away. Yet she was gone, and they spent the rest of the night talking between themselves.

Steve couldn’t handle seeing her hurt. He knew that the possibility that she was their mate was big. Yet he had no physical proof. When he crawled through the living to where she was curled up on the kitchen floor, he didn’t think about what could have happened. His instincts were screaming at him that his mate was in danger and needed help. He didn’t think. He acted on pure primal instinct to protect his mate. It was enough for him. They had to tell her, he couldn’t spend another minute away from her.

Bucky was mortified with how he had reacted. It took a good part of the night of Steve convincing him that he did nothing wrong. However, Bucky still couldn’t shake how he froze. He did nothing, he sat and stared, and when Y/N and Maria dragged Steve to the edge of the water, he almost didn’t react. If it wasn’t for Maria, he probably would have choked again. Steve tried telling him it wasn’t his fault, but he wasn’t so sure. Nevertheless, he agreed. Y/N needed to know.

That was the plan when they saw her the next day. They’d ask her where she went, why did she leave them when they needed her there, and then they’d tell her. They wouldn’t hold anything back from her. She was their mate, it was now clear. She deserved to know.

Yet, seeing how closed off she was, standing behind them shifting from foot to foot, Bucky and Steve quickly realized that was going to be on the backburner.

“Y/N?” Steve pulled both Y/N and Bucky back to the present. His eyes never left Y/N, frowning at how distant her gaze was. She was thinking, he could see the wheels turning in her head. Slowly, not to startle her, he gently took her hand his larger ones and pulled her down to the floor between them.

Y/N took a deep breath, the butterflies growing in the pit of her stomach, only this time they felt as heavy as lead. She felt sick and was truly second guessing this. She was given little time to rethink, to bolt, Bucky having already delicately pried away her fingers from the creased folder. He was flipping through the pages, frowning at the images. The first few were a collection of images of men that all looked eerily similar to each other. The others were large texts he couldn’t decipher, words he didn’t honestly care to understand at that moment. What mattered were the images of the smiling women on the pages. It mattered because they each look unnervingly like the woman sitting between them. Bucky hadn’t realized that his hands began to shake until Steve took the folder from him, his fingers gently squeezing Bucky’s as he took the papers.

“Y/N, what is this?” He uttered, voice trembling. Y/N sighed, looking at her fingernails in her lap.

“Can you read?” Bucky and Steve shook their heads. This was the longest the two had ever spent around a human, neither needing a reason to float close enough to the surface and read. They heard and learned English in passing by the few fishermen and boats they encountered, but that was from a safe distance. Reading was separate. Even without the ability to read the words on the page, they knew they were significant. The look on her face said it all.

Now it was Steve’s turn to gape at the images, seeing the familiarity in the women. What was going on? Who were these people? Y/N silently answered the question, gently flipping the pages over to the last page of the driver’s license to point to the last.

“That is-or was my fiancé, Taylor Hoffman. At least, that’s what he was called when I knew him.” Steve and Bucky shared a looked over Y/N’s head, dread sinking in. She didn’t see the exchange, too busy relieving the past week to focus on them.

Taking a deep breath to soothe her nerves, she told the two of how she came to meet the man who would come to try and to kill her. She didn’t leave any detail out of their relationship, how she thought he was the one and that she thought they’d spend the rest of their lives together. Y/N dreaded having to tell them how easily she fell into Taylor’s trap, and still couldn’t look beyond how easily he manipulated her. She was a fool.

Y/N didn’t want to cry, she really did try to hold it in. She had cried too much over this to shed another tear. But when the first tear slipped down her cheek the others quickly followed behind, streaming down her face as she sobbed between the two mermen. Steve and Bucky moved quickly, pressing her protectively between the both, quietly urging her on to finish. Bucky wrapped his arm around her waist and Steve bent over to nuzzle his head against her temple. Blindly, she reached for both their hands, lacing her fingers together with theirs, hoping to find support as best she could.

“T-those women, they all knew him. They all knew Taylor, or whatever name he gave them. The stories, the words on the paper were all the same. T-they would be on a vacation, somewhere celebrating their engagement. And then she’d disappear. E-every one of them, gone overnight.” Y/N sobbed, her heart hurting for those women. She was almost another number, but she survived. All because of the two creatures that had her wrapped up in their arms, that had frozen at the horror of her words. “He killed them all, and I-I was the only to ever escape.”

Bucky pulled his head back, an eyebrow twitching. He was surprised at how quickly the rage boiled up to the surface, he could feel his blood pressure skyrocket. He clenched his jaw and struggled to keep his grip on Y/N’s wait light. Everything in him was screaming at him to find this man, to rip his head from his body. He wanted to see the bastard's’ blood swirl in the water around him as his body was swallowed by the sharks he intended for Y/N. Bucky wanted to taste the satisfaction of knowing he’d never hurt anyone or his mate again. Y/N continued on, only serving to set him further into the blinding rage he found himself lost in.

“H-he told me that I’d need a break, that this could be a fun relaxing trip before our wedding. I never once knew what his real m-motive was.” Y/N sniffed, rubbing furiously at her eyes to wipe away the tears. “He wanted to take me out to see the stars, on our own private little boat tour. I-I had no idea he drugged the champagne. I never would have thought he’d throw me over and leave me there. B-but he did.”

Bucky’s chest rumbled with a growl, enraged. He jumped when Steve’s fingers brushed back his hair from his face, pulling Bucking from his thoughts of vengeance. Slowly, Bucky titled his head towards Steve’s, grinding his teeth together with frustration. He wasn’t surprised to see the same fury reflected in Steve’s eyes. After both admitting aloud she was indeed their mate, it triggered something in the both. And now that they knew what happened to their mate that night they found her. They had even more of a reason to rip that man to shreds.

Y/N had managed to calm down enough, the tears drying on her skin. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she found it easier to breathe. She had no idea how heavily her burden rested on her shoulder’s until let it all out. The feeling of weightlessness was distracting.

Her loud sniffle, however, pulled the two mermen from their silent exchange. The two had a plan or parts of one at least. They’d need to speak without Y/N around, neither want to upset her further. However, before that, they both came to the sobering realization that they needed to come clean on their end.

Steve let out a sigh, brushing his thumb along her cheek to wipe away what was left of her tears. The corner of Y/N’s mouth turned up, her face growing warm at the gentle gesture. Bucky leaned down and pressed a firm kiss on her temple, his eyes fluttering close as he took in her smell. It soothed him, placating the creature inside him from hunting the monster down. His end would come later. First, they would care for their mate.

Y/N’s heart clenched at their tender touches, the smile spreading on her face the longer they embraced her. She felt as if she were on a cloud, weightless yet grounded between these to mermen. She could describe the feeling really, but all she knew was that it felt right. Once again, she found herself in their arms, securely wrapped up in their protective grip. It wasn’t smoother, she never felt as though they were holding her back. If anything, they felt as though they were clinging to her.

The memory of last night came rushing back, slamming into her chest. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure herself anymore. Despite not catching on to her ex-fiancé’s lies, she wasn’t an idiot. Anyone could have seen that there was something between the two mermen. She shifted uncertainly, shrinking in on herself between them. Bucky frowned.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, dipping his head down to stare into her eyes. She froze, taken aback at the concerned that flashed across his eyes. Before she could turn her gaze away, he tipped her chin back with a finger under her chin, his frown deepening. “Y/N? What are you thinking about now?”

“I-I,” Y/N started, eyes darting uncertainly between the two. Breathing sharply, she swallowed past the lump and decided to bite the bullet. “Are you two-are you together?”

Bucky blinked in surprise, glancing up at Steve. He wore his crooked grin, the tension leaving his shoulders. He nodded to Bucky.

“If you mean together as in a mated pair, then yes, we are.” He spoke slowly, dragging his eyes from Steve to Y/N. He didn’t miss the crestfallen look she tried to hide, nor did he miss how she shied away from his touch.

“O-oh. You’re mated?” She whispered, casting her eyes away from his intense stare. “Like a marriage?”

“Sort of,” It was Steve’s turn to answer, his voice rumbling low in his chest. Y/N hesitantly turned her head towards him, brows pinched together. “When a mer mates, they mate for life. There are no others. It’s not a random choice, it’s a deep instinctual pull we feel when we meet the ones made for us.”

Y/N paused, catching the underlying tone and meaning in his words. Neither of the mers said another word, the two watching her process things quietly to herself. Her mouth fell open and closed several times, causing them to grin. She wasn’t even trying, and they found her struggling to process things adorable.

“Wait. Wait. The ones?”

Bucky chuckled at her bewildered tone, smirking. He nodded, tugging at his lower lip before he pushed a stray hair out of her face. His thumb brushed down her cheek, the smirk spread at the growing heat of her skin beneath his cool fingertips.

“As in, more than one?” She uttered breathlessly, her eyes wide. There was no way they could be hinting at what she thought they were. Could they be? She felt the air knocked from her lungs at Bucky’s slow nod, her heart hammering in her throat. They were serious, she thought hazily.

Steve took her stunned silence to lean down and brush delicate kisses against her neck, brushing along that spot that would have been the same place as their gills. His own matching smirk grew at the goosebumps on her skin, chuckling low. Y/N shivered, unaware she was curling into his touch, her body acting on instinct to get closer to Steve. She let out a breathy sigh, her eyelids fluttering close as Bucky bent down and followed Steve’s lead.

Her head was swimming, overwhelmed by their caresses, their kisses growing heavy and bolder the longer they lingered. She felt heat pool in her stomach, the fire lighting her veins ablaze. Never did she think this could feel so  _good_. The fire exploded once Steve nipped at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. A soft moan passed her lips, her mind too far gone to feel any embarrassment. The noise only seemed to spur the two on, their grips tightening around her body. Bucky broke off from her neck, kissing up her jaw and cheek. He hovered over her lips, his lips a hair’s breadth away.  

With her eyes still shut tight, she didn’t see how he was taking a moment to memorize her features, to forever ingrain her face in his mind. She only felt when his lips began to move, his breath hot on her skin.

“Steve’s my mate, as I’m his. Just how you are both our mates.”


	17. Chapter 16

_Her head was swimming, overwhelmed by their caresses, their kisses growing heavy and bolder the longer they lingered. She felt heat pool in her stomach, the fire lighting her veins ablaze. Never did she think this could feel so good. The fire exploded once Steve nipped at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. A soft moan passed her lips, her mind too far gone to feel any embarrassment. The noise only seemed to spur the two on, their grips tightening around her body. Bucky broke off from her neck, kissing up her jaw and cheek. He hovered over her lips, his lips a hair’s breadth away._

_With her eyes still shut tight, she didn’t see how he was taking a moment to memorize her features, to forever ingrain her face in his mind. She only felt when his lips began to move, his breath hot on her skin._

_“Steve’s my mate, as I’m his. Just how you are both our mates.”_

* * *

Y/N felt her pulse fluttered at his soft words, but she was drunk on the warmth of their touches. Her mind was mush, slow and hazy. Whatever effect they had on her, it kept her from thinking straight. She heard his words but couldn’t process it. Not with the way Steve was rubbing circles into her skin, and how Bucky’s smell took over her senses.

Bucky observed her face, watching and searching for any signs of rejection or discomfort. He let out a sigh of his relief, his heart soaring when she didn’t pull back when she didn’t seem bothered by his admittance. Maybe she had always known they were more. Perhaps she was still processing it, and it just hadn’t clicked.

However, it was never that easy. It clicked in her brain and she felt her stomach plummet. Y/N’s eyes flew open, gasping with shock. She yanked her head back from Bucky’s fingers on her chin, startling him. Both Bucky and Steve jumped with wide eyes.

“Wh-what?” Y/N gasped. “What did you say?”

Bucky leaned back, blinking rapidly. His mouth fell open and closed, shooting a frightened look to Steve. He too looked alarmed, his arms still loosely wrapped around her waist. He didn’t miss how she started to tremble, clasping her hands together in her lap.

“W-Well we-you’re our mate?” Bucky spoke uncertainly, his eyes brows furrowed. Now he wasn’t certain about his approach. Did he say it wrong?

Y/N leaned back, needing to put space between her and the mermen. Steve frowned, not wanting to let her slip from his fingers, but she was already shuffling backward on the hard deck. Bucky made a noise in the back of his throat, a troubled whine when she knocked back his attempts to pull her back.

“W-no. I-I can’t be.” She whispered. She shook her head in denial, that couldn’t be true. She figured they were a couple, not surprised to hear them admit they were mates, whatever that was. But she couldn’t be theirs. There was no way, for several reasons. Her mind kept repeating the same thing. This had to be a joke, a sick, twisted joke.

“But you are!” Bucky croaked. He could see her pulling away, the walls they managed to bring down were quickly building back up and blocking them out. “No-.Y/N-.”

She cut him off with a hasty wave of her hand, her fingers trembling. She bit back more tears from slipping down her face, her stomach in knots. This was cruel. After just dumping all her burdens, laying them out on the floor, and they decided to take advantage. That had to be it. She was vulnerable, they took advantage and were playing with her feelings. She felt safe with them, she felt for once whole between them and they figured it out to use it against her. For reasons why she wasn’t sure. But they did. Not to mention, she couldn’t be their mate. They were mers, and she was human. This would never work. A detail they had to know.

Steve started to reach out, but she quickly batted his hand away. She ignored the distress that flashed across his face, ignored the agony on Bucky’s, and scrambled to her feet.

“Wh-why would you say something like that?” She muttered the tears began to slip once again. “Why would you be so cruel?”

Steve recoiled as if she kicked him square in the gut. His low chin started to tremble and his eyes glazing over with unshed tears. This wasn’t going how they planned it to go.

“Y/N.” He spoke, voice cracking and trembling. “We’re not trying to be. You are.”

“No!” Y/N snapped, her chest heaving. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Her voice started off strong and sure, but as she continued it trailed off. “No. I’m not. I can’t be.”

“Doll… Please. Let us explain.” Bucky hesitantly reached out once more, and yet again was knocked away. Y/N took two steps back, vigorously shaking her head. She muttered something under her breath as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

“I-I have to go.” She uttered and spun at heel. The two mermen called after her, both desperately wishing they could get up and chase after her. She was already out the front door and running up the sands of the beach before either could explain themselves. She fled and took a piece of their hearts with.  Slowly, glossy broken eyes turned to the other and heavy arms reached out to tightly take hold in search of condolence.

* * *

Y/N didn’t know where she was going, she had never left the bungalow out the front door before. She just knew she couldn’t be there, listening to them anymore. 

They had to be screwing with her. She thought she felt safe with them, but then again, she thought she was safe with Taylor. She didn’t know what to think. Her mind was running too fast for her to keep up, and her blood pressure had skyrocketed along with her racing thoughts.

She didn’t even know she was crying until she came up to a set of fuzzy brown door, only realizing it was the tears clouding her vision. With a shaky hand, she knocked on the wood, sniffing loudly.

It didn’t take long for the door to swing open, a confused Maria on the other side. She took one look at Y/N’s runny nose and tear stained face to kick into overdrive. She swept Y/N up under her arm and ushered her inside. 

Y/N was sat on the couch, and Maria moved around to scoop up a tissue box and a bottle of water. She sat beside Y/N and gently tucked her up against her side.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She asked gently when Y/N’s sobs quietened down. “What happened?”

Y/N shook her head and blew into a tissue. She took in a heavy breath and attempted to keep it together. Slowly shifting to Maria, she began to tell her of her morning. Maria sat and listened, nodding along when Y/N told her that Bucky and Steve knew about Taylor and what he had done. When Y/N got to where they told her they were mates, and that she was theirs as well, Maria had to hide a smile.

“So, you’re upset, thinking they’re playing with your feelings?” Y/N nodded. 

She felt a little better getting this off her chest, and so far, Maria wasn’t making it seem like she was acting out of line. Maria sighed and sat back, a soft smile on her face. “I can see why you’re so upset. I get it, especially after everything that has happened to you. But I don’t think they are.”

Y/N stopped and slowly twisted her body to face Maria. Her brows pinched together tightly in confusion.

“What?” She squeaked. Maria giggled.

“I don’t think they’re playing with you.” She repeated softly, gently rubbing circles on Y/N’s shoulder. “That’s not the mer’s way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Maria sighed, looking deep in thought before she continued. “The mers as a whole are pretty serious. They’re forced into hiding, they have to fight for their territories and most have to fight for their food. It’s not an easy life. When a mer finds their mate, that’s their partner and they trust them implicitly. It’s never a joke when they form a bond. It’s life binding. If they think you’re their mate, then it must be true.”

Y/N frowned, struggling to understand. So, it didn’t matter that they were mers and she was human? How would that work out though? They were from two different worlds, it couldn’t work. Could it?

“But… How? I’m not a mermaid?” She voiced her concern, her doubt that was still nagging at the back of her head. “I-That can’t be.”

Maria took a moment to look over Y/N, an easy smile on her face. She could see how she was fighting this, Maria had already seen her reacting to the pull before. She saw how Y/N unconsciously leaned into the two, how she sought them out when they weren’t together. Not to mention, the scene she walked into just yesterday. It wasn’t often a mer crawled out of the water and put their life on the line for a human. Not unless they meant something.

“There are things in this world we don’t have answers to right away,” Maria said carefully. “Why does anything happen to us? But I don’t think things happen to us without reason. Look at what happened with Taylor.”

Y/N flinched at the thought but didn’t interrupt. Maria squeezed her shoulder and continued.

“What he tried to do was and is inexcusable. It was horrid and vile. But, if he hadn’t thrown you over, if he hadn’t dropped you where he had, you would have never met Bucky and Steve.” Maria’s tucked her hair behind her ear, staring off into the distance over Y/N’s shoulder, lost in a far-flung memory. “Things happen for a reason. I think you should give them a chance to explain.”

Y/N’s eyes narrowed, and she lips puckered. Turning to Maria once again, she opened her mouth to say something about how ridiculous that sounded but was cut short by something in the corner of her eye. Maria tilted her head to the side, a brow raised as she waited for Y/N to continue.

Yet Y/N couldn’t find the right words. Were her eyes deceiving her? That had to be it. There was no way.

“Hey Maria, Sharon called-.” Fury’s voice caused Y/N to jump, ripping her gaze away from Maria to spin towards where he emerged around a corner. He stopped short, taking the pile of tissues and the dried tears on Y/N’s face. Recovering quickly, he nodded in hello. “I didn’t know we had a guest.”

“It’s okay, Fury. She just needed to talk about something with someone other than the two mermen.” Maria smiled, patting Y/N’s back. “Actually, she was just about to leave.”

Y/N whirled around again, gaping. She wasn’t ready yet! Maria gave her a hard look that sent Y/N’s mouth snapping shut.

“Yes, you are,” Maria answered, ignoring the flash of irritation on Y/N’s face. “You need to go hear them out. They wouldn’t ever say things to mess with you, ever. Just, trust them. Have they given you a reason not to?”

Fury raised a brow, observing the two women with mild interest. Y/N’s shoulder sagged and she gave up on the fight. Maria was right. So far the two hadn’t done anything to her that made her question their motives. She had to stomp that little voice in the back of her head that said neither had Taylor. They weren’t him. She had to remember that

She tried to reason that the two mermen had all the time to try and kill her during their time together. It would have been easy. However, all they did was treat her like a queen. They never touched her without her consent, they always looked to her to set the limits and then respected it. They made sure she ate and slept. They cared for her enough to give her the gift of breathing underwater. She could never drown again. She’d never worry about succumbing to the fate that Taylor intended for her. They didn’t even know he when they did so, but they were willing for her.

Giving in to the inevitable, Y/N let out a loud sigh. Pushing up on shaky legs, she stood with Maria beside her.

“You good?” Maria asked. Y/N nodded, her lips turning up into a hesitant smile. Maria beamed in return and began to lead her towards the door. “Good. Go listen, let them talk. They really do care for you.”

Y/N mumbled a thank you and stepped out on to the porch. She took in another breath of fresh air to calm herself before she headed back to the bungalow she had been calling home. A small part of her wished they wouldn’t be there, that she could avoid this longer. But this was a day of admitting things that were hard for them all. And probably admitting she was wrong to assume the worst. Now, Y/N could only hope they’d forgive her.


	18. Chapter 17

Maria let out a sigh, watching Y/N disappear into the thick jungle, waiting until she was gone from sight before shutting the door. Fury had moved to lean against the door frame at the end of the hall, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“She okay?” He asked. Maria shrugged and passed him to clean up the tissues in the living room.

“I think she’ll be okay. She just needed to talk out a few things. What happened with Taylor really messed her up, and she needed to be reminded not all men are the same.”

Fury hummed, nodding in understanding while following Maria to the kitchen. The woman let out another sigh and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms across her chest.

“So, you were saying Sharon called?” She raised a brow, referring to what he intended on saying earlier.

“Ah, yes. She called and said we needed to meet her.” He scratched his chin, eye narrowing in thought. “She didn’t tell me why, just that she needed to see us.”

“Huh. Well, I can’t always see if Y/N needs anything before we leave.” She paused, thinking that over. A sly grin spread on her face, and she shook her head before pushing off the counter. “Better yet, I’ll just grab her stuff. I don’t think they’ll want to be bothered for a while.”

“Do I want to know?” Fury asked with a low chuckled. Maria simply smiled and shook her head again. She was briefly worried how Y/N would handle herself, but something told her it would all work out. They were made for each other after all.

“Nah. But we’ll probably have to knock more when we go over.”

* * *

Bucky and Steve hadn’t moved, partly stunned but mostly beside themselves. Steve had to grit his teeth from letting out a sob, Bucky doing enough for the both of them. He thought over the past few days, over every little detail and time the spent with Y/N. Where did they go wrong? Should they have waited longer? Was she ever going to come back?

Guilt wracked through Bucky, his sob muffled by the skin of his mate. Steve let him cling to him, whispering soft words of reassurance in his ear. Steve wasn’t sure if he believed them, thinking them to be hollow much like his chest felt. But he had to help in some way. One mate was struggling and in pain, while the other was possibly gone forever. Just when he thought they found their final piece, it slipped from their fingers and left them a hollow shell of themselves. They hadn’t known her a week, and she had such a strong grip on the two.

“What did we do wrong, Steve?” Bucky wailed, his fingers curling in the skin of Steve’s back. Steve shook his head, letting a few of his own tears slip free.

“Nothing, Buck. We didn’t do anything.” His voice trembled, and he clung tighter to Bucky.

“Then why? Why did she look at us like that?” Bucky pressed. “Why did she run?”

Steve found no answer. He couldn’t understand either. They both thought it was going so well, she had been spending the past few days melting into their touch. Why did she run? Why did she think they would joke about something like this?

He leaned down, burying his face Bucky’s hair and peppered kisses along his skin. Bucky sniffed loudly and tilted his head back in search of Steve. When they found the other, the kiss they shared was messy and desperate. They were frantic for that contact, needing something to ground them and looked for that in each other.

Bucky pulled back first, his eyes shut tightly. He pressed his forehead against Steve’s, whimpering low in the back of his throat.

“Did we lose her, Steve?” He asked, afraid of the answer. Steve’s heart clenched once more at the pain Bucky’s voice.

“I don’t know Bucky,” He whispered softly. He ran a finger through Bucky’s hair, lost in his thoughts as Bucky let out another shuddering sob. He was trying to figure out how to fix this, he was desperate to fix it.

Y/N quietly opened the front door, not certain if they would still be where she ran from them. When she stepped into the room, her eyes instantly searched for the two on the deck. They were right where she left them, clinging to each other. Bucky was shaking in Steve’s arms, face buried in his neck. Taking a hesitant step towards them, she saw the tears that stained both their faces. Her heart clenched in her chest and she was across the room before she even realized it.

Bucky heard the soft footsteps, his stomach lurching from hope. Steve caught it too, slowly turning his head towards the sound, his breath catching in this throat. Bucky’s head snapped up, eyes wide at the sight of Y/N crossing the rooms to the deck.

Fresh tears sprang forward, this time from relief as he reached out. Steve and Bucky both opened their arms wide, letting go of the air they were holding in when she collapsed in their arms with her own echoing sob. The second she touched their skin, she felt a weight lift and her mind relax. How could she have doubted them with how right it felt being with them?

The mers clutched her firmly, nuzzling into her neck and hair, muttering their apologies in her ear. She shook her heard struggling to find her voice through the tears. It wasn’t their fault. Instead, she hugged tighter to the two, Maria’s words echoing in her head. They wouldn’t say things without reason. They don’t lie about something they consider serious.

Neither was willing to let her go, Bucky’s grip like iron around her waist with Steve right beside him tugging her to his chest. Their whispers slipped away as they held on tighter, just taking in the comfort of knowing they were together. Even if the two mermen weren’t sure what was to happen next. Y/N pulled back first, whipping her face with her hand. Bucky let out a panic whimper, his eyes flying open wide.

“I’m sorry I ran.” Y/N soothed, catching a fresh tear on Bucky’s face with her thumb. He crooned and turned into her hand. She turned her attention to Steve, giving him a watery smile. He struggled to return it, shaking his head in response. “No, please. Let me explain. I didn’t react right.”

“No-.” Bucky started to interrupt. She stopped him short with a finger to his lips.

“I was scared. To be honest, I still am.” She admitted. “When you said I was your mate, I didn’t know if you were just messing with or not. I just, I don’t know. I kept having flashbacks to Taylor. How he didn’t seem like he could hurt me. And that’s all I could think about with you.”

Steve and Bucky were shocked, tensing at her admittance. It took a good sense of control not to jump in and tell her she was wrong. They wanted to hear her story though, needing to make sure it was all out in the open.

“I let my fear take over, and I’m so sorry. I should have stayed and talked it through. I don’t know exactly what you mean when you say I’m your mate. I have an idea, but I don’t know how that be possible.” She said sadly. “We’re just so different, you two and me. I don’t- I don’t know.”

Steve chuckled low, the corners of his eyes crinkling in relief. Bucky couldn’t’ help his own laugh. Bucky tugged her to his lap, nuzzling his nose into her neck. Goosebumps pebbled her skin from the warmth of his breath, tilting her head back to give him more access.

“No. You did nothing wrong. I think our approach wasn’t right.” Bucky replied. Steve reached out to tilt her face towards him, gazing into her eyes for a moment before letting his fingers run down her cheek to the skin on her neck.

“Do you know why our gills are so sensitive?” He asked. Y/N shook her head, lowering her gaze to eye the three thin lines on either side of his neck. She hesitated, wanting to listen to that voice that told her to reach up at touch the skin there. Steve caught the twitch of her fingers, a grin spread across his face.

He took hold of her hand and gently guided her fingertips to brush against the skin. She took over, tracing the thin black lines, marveling at how soft it felt beneath her fingertips. Steve couldn’t stop from shuddering, his eyelids fluttering shut. A sound rumbled in his chest, a purr she realized with a giggle. Bucky reached over her shoulder, his fingers covering her hand to follow her movement.

“Why?” She asked breathlessly, curious to know what was so important about the area. Steve groaned, brows pulling together as he struggled to regain his thoughts. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand back to rest on his peck.

“We don’t have many weaknesses. But our biggest is our gills.” His eyes flutter open, molten blue locking eyes with Y/N. She gasped heat pooling in her stomach at the sight of the lust that swirled in his gaze. “Without them, we can’t breathe underwater. We can’t live. It’s a death sentence without them.”

“We can’t live underwater if they’re damaged, and we can’t live above water in worry of being found by humans. If they’re both damaged, we have no other choice but to die.” Bucky’s voice behind her caused her to jump. “Even touching wrong them could damage the skin.”

Y/N’s eyes flew open wide, horror flashing across her features. She didn’t know that could happen, and she naively reached out to touch them. Bucky rubbed her arms, soothing her fears with gentle reassurance. Steve swallowed loudly, his nostrils flaring while he chewed on his bottom lip. She shuddered. He looked ready to eat her whole.

“The only time our gills are ever touched is when we’re in a fight for our lives.” Steve paused. “Or, when we find out mate. We only let the ones we trust fully touch the skin there. Only the ones we know will never take advantage of our weakness can get close.”

Steve leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers and gazed intensely into her eyes, refusing to let her look away. She melted under his look, her eyelids growing heavy. Why did she ever doubt them? They hardly knew her and encouraged her to touch their biggest weakness.

“Not only that but when our mates touch us, it’s euphoric.” He groaned, brushing his lips against her mouth. “It’s mind-numbing, and it sets our insides on fire. When we find out mate, the touch becomes addicting. And we crave for more.”

He closed the distance between them, finally pressing his lips to hers. She gasped, fireworks exploding her stomach. Steve slipped his tongue into her mouth and groaned at her taste. His instincts screaming at him to never let go. He had no plans any time soon.

Bucky purred behind them, all the fear from before dissipating when she melted into the kiss. He watched her arms wrap around Steve’s neck, fingers curling in the hair at his neck. A smile spread across his face. She wasn’t fighting it, wherever she went helped her think this out. Patiently waiting for his turn, he began to pepper kiss along her neck, pushing the shirt away to get access to her skin.

Nothing else mattered to the three and when Y/N needed to come up for air, Bucky took the chance to tilt her head back and slanted his lips over hers in a passionate kiss. He moaned, echoing Steve’s sentiment at her taste. She was sweet, like honey and undeniably addicting. He didn’t know how much he needed this until he tasted it.

Steve let his fingers run up and down the skin of her arms, frowning at how hot her skin felt. A wicked grin spread across his face. Wrapping an arm around the two, he nuzzled against Bucky’s neck over Y/N’s back, nipping at the skin before he pushed them off the deck.

Y/N felt her stomach drop, ripping away from Bucky’s mouth to let out a squeal as they fell through the air. Bucky’s and Steve’s laugh shook against her chest, the last sound she heard before she hit the water. They never let her go as the sank to the bottom, taking turns kissing her senseless. They didn’t plan on letting her go anytime soon and were going to spend every moment reassuring her they’d take advantage of her trust.

This was serious, they were one hundred percent certain. She was their mate, their third piece. She wasn’t going anywhere, and they were going to protect her at all costs. They’d figure out how to make things work with the smaller details later, species be damned. For now, they were focusing only on her, their perfect little mate.


	19. Chapter 18

The chime of the doorbell caused the two detectives on the couch to pause, glancing at each other before finally, Sharon stood. Opening the door, Maria and Fury stood on the other side. The two guests didn’t seem at all bothered at the impromptu meeting, neither arguing to meet at Sharon’s home.

Sharon let them with a tight-lipped smile, waving them to head down the hall.

“Glad you could make it. Phil’s in the living room.”

Maria returned the smile and stepped into the home with Fury trailing behind her. Sharon closed the door slowly, watching the ex-detective and the woman with a guarded expression as they walk further into her home.

Phil greeted them with a warmer hello, setting a thick blue folder down on the coffee table in front of him. He stood with a hand extended, shaking both their hands as they settled on the couch.

“Can I get you two anything?”

“No, I’m alright,” Fury shook his head. Maria responded in kind and sat back in the plush leather cushions. They sighed and glanced around the room without a care in the world. Fury noticed Sharon finally painted, and Maria was eyeing the new coffee table with the refurbished wood.

Sharon hesitated at the doorway, looking between the two. Nothing stood out to her about the two of them, yet she knew they were hiding something. Fury caught her eye with his one. From that look along, Sharon saw that he knew. She took in a deep breath and stepped into the room.

“So, what did you want to talk to us about that pulled from my little island?” Fury asked, leaning back with his arms crossed against his chest. He raised a brow, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips as he waited.

Sharon narrowed her eyes and walked over to the folder. Picked it up, she flips through the pages until she pulled out another manila folder tucked inside. Thrusting the folder into Fury’s face, she stared him down.

“What do you have to explain about this?”

Fury took the folder, blinking innocently as he opened it. His smirk grew, seeing the images of the driver’s license on the first page. When Sharon called, there was a voice in the front of his head screaming at him she had figured things out. Phil would only keep the secret so long, the man was loyal to his partner. When she swung the door open in greeting, Fury saw the look on her face and knew. Letting out a sigh, he leaned back against the couch, folder dropping to his lap.

“Seem’s like an indecisive prick. Can’t pick a haircut to save his life. What more do you want to know?”

Sharon’s eyebrow twitched, her jaw tensing at his nonchalant tone. Here was the biggest case of her career and an ex-detective and his latchkey managed to find a giant lead that apparently, she and every other cop from past cases missed completely. Taking a deep breath, she began her interrogation.

“Well let’s start off with the woman, Y/N.” Maria and Fury didn’t flinch, irritatingly enough. “Where is she?”

Maria and Fury both stared at the other. Fury had his trademark smirk spreading on his face, and Sharon swore that vein on her forehead pulsed from aggravation.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Fury answered simply. Phil snorted from his spot on the love seat. When the three others turned to stare, he cleared his throat, embarrassed. Sharon ignored her partner and turned her attention back to Fury, hard press to get information out of him.

“Cut the crap, Fury. You and I both know you know where Y/N is. There’s no way you came across her clothes in the water. You’ve told me countless times you hate fishing.” She pointed a finger at him, daring him to argue. Fury shrugged, shifting further into the seat. Sharon continued. “It’s all too convenient how you had the fiancé pegged as a suspect. You knew before you even saw him, so don’t pull that ‘he had a look’ b.s. on me. The people down at the precinct might fall for it, but you taught me all your tricks and I can see it a mile away.”

Fury sighed, rubbing his temples. He could drag this on longer if he wanted, he almost did too. It had been a while since he had some excitement in his life, something that made him feel alive again. Fury always wondered why he attracted damsels in distress, maybe it was his soft heart. He’d think the missing eye with the ugly scar would scare them off. Instead, he kept finding people needing help and he wasn’t going to turn away either. He knew Y/N need protection, he saw the fear in her eyes that day they went in and asked about the news report. He swore that day he wasn’t going to let her get hurt anymore, not by anyone else.

“She’s alive.” He broke the silence, astonishing Sharon and Phil both. Sharon’s mouth fell open. She thought that it’d take longer to get him to admit it, but Fury readily confessed. With a quick glance at Maria, she saw that the other woman didn’t seem surprised, almost relieved he admitted it. “She’s safe and very much alive.”

Sharon’s mouth shut with an audible click, brows furrowing. She was shocked at first, but now that was shifting into irritation.

“So, you kept a major key evidence from me, from the department? Then you came it, bribed a government official, took out private information of a victim-.”

“Suspect.” Fury interjects. Sharon pointedly overlooks his comment and continued.

“Took out private information, tampered with an investigation, and you sit there acting like there’s nothing wrong?”

Fury thought her words over, nodding slowly. “Yep. Think that about sums it up.”

“Oh my god!” Sharon snarled, throwing her hands up. “Are you fucking kidding me right now Nick?! Do you have any idea how bad this is?!”

“I assume not as bad considering you invited us here to your home and not the precinct.”

Sharon froze, once again her mouth open in shock. Phil chuckled, hiding his smile behind his hand.

“Wh-what’s not.” She began with a stammer. “That’s n-not important.”

“Look, you want the truth, I’ll give it to you straight. Cutting the shit so to speak” Fury spoke with a shrug. “The night before he claimed she disappeared, we found her body floating in the middle of the ocean. She was unconscious and nonresponsive. We took her back to my home after performing CPR, but it she was drugged by something, we still don’t know what.”

Sharon kicked into action, pulling out a notepad and pen and began scribbling down the information he was saying. Fury paused, letting her catch up before continuing.

“She was wearing the clothes we brought in. By the way, it’s just some old fish blood I bought from the dock, you don’t need to test it. It’s not hers. Although I do kind of want to see the forensic’s face when it comes up as fish and not the missing persons’ blood type.

Anyways, she was drugged and didn’t regain consciousness until the next day. When she woke, she didn’t have much recollection of what happened at first. Slowly it came back to her. That’s how we knew about her fiancé, she only remembered bits of that night, but enough to know he drugged her and threw her overboard.”

“Threw her overboard?”

“Yep.” Fury nodded. “She said they were going out on some late-night stargazing trip. Not anything odd around here, but she said it was just the two of them. Which is.” Sharon nodded but waved for him to continue. “Anyhow, long story short, she’s been staying safely away from the main island until we can figure out how to expose that son of a bitch without causing her any more harm. As far as he knows, she’s dead in some shark’s stomach. And quite frankly, that’s how I’d like to keep it.”

Sharon sighed and read over the short summary, frowning. She jotted down a few notes she observed herself. He was a strange man, seemingly very charming and charismatic. He had a pretty face, a handsome smile and seemed to know exactly what to say. However, there was something about him that always gnawed at her insides. She didn’t know at the time, but it was her instincts telling her he was a dangerous man and to watch out for. When Fury came in with his hunch, she normally would have ignored him. Her instincts told her to listen though.

“What did you find?” Fury asked, tossing the folder on the coffee table. The pages spilled out, the eerily similar faces in the pictures staring up at Sharon, taunting her. Tailing him the past few days led her with very little, but she knew enough about him now to see his tells. She summed up her findings for Fury and Maria like she had with Phil at the diner, not leaving any detail out.

“So, you think he has an accomplice?” Maria sat forward with interest. Sharon nodded and pulled out the security footage screenshot. She pointed at the woman in the photo, frowning.

“Whoever this woman is, she knows things and was probably there for all of these other murders.” She motioned to the missing person flyers, her stomach churning. There was no beating around the bush. She knew none of those women were alive. Taylor, or whoever this man was, knew what he was doing. And it seemed he had help.

“He’s still at the hotel, same room, right?” Maria asked. Sharon nodded. “Then we go to the door when he’s not there, see who answers and bring her in for questioning. Easy as that.”

“I wish.” Phil sighed, shaking his head. “I tried that route. There was no answer, not even a sound. The maid said she had already gone in that day after Taylor left. No one was in the room.”

Phil stopped short, a detail the maid offhandedly said suddenly jumping back out at him. He groaned and scrubbed his hand down his face.

“She also said she didn’t have to clean much, as if he was never in there. God, how did I not pick up on that?”

“They have another room,” Maria replied. Fury agreed, and Sharon was already whipping out her phone from her pocket.

“So, they have a second room, probably not under a known alias, and most likely there either the day before, the day of or the day after.” Fury listed to Sharon who was already on the phone calling in the request.

“Right. I need you to get a warrant at the hotel for the Hoffman case. I need them to send me all check-ins the day before, day of, and the day after the missing persons’ case.” Sharon spoke, pausing to listen to the person on the other end. “Yeah get it a few days before and after just in case. No, just a hunch I have… Yep, let me know when you get it.”

She hung up the phone and jotted down the lead to not forget. This was getting better and better. Part of her felt bad to be so excited, but she knew it was important. That this lead could break the case wide open.

“Anything else out of the ordinary with him?”

Sharon shrugged. “All I know is he seems pretty adamant on leaving soon. Says he has a job he must get back to and can’t sit around here much longer. Oh, and then there are the requests for a death certificate.”

“What?” Maria balked. “It’s still an ongoing investigation and he already wants people to figuratively pull the plug? What the hell is his fucked-up reasoning’s?”

“Nothing really. He didn’t explain much other than he needed to get home and just want a paper saying she was dead.”

Maria turned to Fury, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember what all Y/N told them. A light bulb turned on, and it made sense.

“Wait. Didn’t Y/N say Taylor made her sign an insurance policy a few weeks before they left?”

Fury nodded, the smirk growing on his face.

“She did. And to me, that sounds like-.”

“Motive!” Sharon and Phil interrupt, shouting in stereo.

“Did she say what company?” Sharon questioned, scribbling furiously on the pad. Both shook their head. “That’s fine. I’ll have to look deeper into her background now that I know it really was attempted murder.”

She paused and looked up to the two, her face slipping into a serious mask. She leveled them with a firm stare. “You know that it can’t get out that I had help from either of you. If the DA or either of the lawyers hear there was outside help, this whole case could get thrown out. I don’t want that happening and I’m sure neither do you.”

“No shit.” Fury snorted. “You think I’m going to let my ego it in the way and ruin the chance of locking the fucker and the other woman up for life? He killed before, and he’ll kill again if we don’t stop him. We wouldn’t say a word.”

Maria nodded in agreement. They weren’t going to help any more than just supplying the information they knew from what Y/N told them no matter much they wanted to help. Sharon seemed pleased enough with leaving it at that. She turned to Phil.

“Are you still comfortable doing this?”

He scoffed and folded his arms against his chest.

“Since when do I ever back down from a challenge? He tried to kill a woman for what we can probably guess was for the insurance money. I doubt she was cheating on him and it was a revenge kill.”

Maria snorted. “Hardly. Y/N isn’t that kind of woman, that’s for sure. Maybe easy to see past peoples flaws when she shouldn’t, but I can tell you from the short time I’ve known her she’d never cheat.”

“See.” Phil agreed with a flick of his hand. “He wanted money and tried to kill her for. I bet if we looked into all the other cases, we’ll find evidence to support that with the other women too.”

Silence rang through the room, the weight of the evil the man in question had possibly done. While they had no solid proof, all of it so far completely circumstantial evidence that might not even hold up in the court of law, but they all knew. Sharon was the first to break the silence, sighing heavily.

“So, we have a serial killer on our hands. Don’t we?”

The other three nodded, all eyes falling on that folder filled with the victims before Y/N. The innocent young women who fell for a monster’s charm and lost their lives in turn. It was sick, twisted, and vile. He had no remorse, that much was clear. He clearly didn’t care about these women. Only himself.

“The only question left to ask; How do we prove he did it?” Maria asked the room, unable to look away from one of the images of a smiling woman that was strikingly close Y/N’s own appearance. Phil shrugged, but Sharon looked troubled.

“I-I might have an idea.” She began hesitantly. “But you might not like it.”


	20. Chapter 19

“So, where do we go from here?” Y/N whispered against Bucky’s neck. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her against his chest with Steve pressed against Y/N’s back, holding them both.

Bucky lifted his head from where he rested it against her head, looking down at Y/N with a lazy smile. His heart fluttered in his chest at the content look across her face. They did that. They made her feel safe enough to relax completely in the safety of their arms. 

“What do you mean?” Steve mumbled against the back of her head.

Y/N shrugged. From where she lay against Bucky, she could see the light hitting the small beads of water that clung to his dark eyelashes that rest on his cheeks. Letting her eyes fall down to his jaw, she eyed the same thin lines along Bucky’s neck, occasionally fluttering open as if it to breathe in the water they floated in. 

She had never seen either set of gills working, too focused on other things around them to pay attention. To see it up close was almost mesmerizing, despite serving as a reminder that neither they weren’t human like herself. She pushed it aside and focused on the topic at hand.

“You say I’m your mate. I’m still not even sure what that implies” She spoke softly. Curiosity won the best of her, she raised a hand and gently traced the thin gills along Bucky’s neck. He was quick to react, his hand grabbing hers in a flash to stop her short. Y/N’s face burned, and she mumbled a soft apology, intertwining her fingers with his.

“It’s okay,” Bucky soothed, despite the war he was fighting inside him. It was like a fire burned his blood and his instinct screaming at him to take her, to mark her as their own. He couldn’t do that, however, he knew it was still too fresh on her mind. She only had just found out.

Steve took hold of Bucky’s wrist and brought their hands towards his face. He tenderly brushed his lips against both knuckles, a soft smile playing at the corners of his mouth. His heart was full now that he could express his care for them both. Even with the short amount of time knowing Y/N, Steve already knew he was falling in love with the human woman. Bucky hadn’t said it aloud, but Steve knew he was quickly falling for her too.

“For now, nothing needs to change.” He murmured against the back of her hand. “Nothing’s changed other than knowing that the strings of fate picked us to be partners, that somehow we were made for each other.”

“Wow.” Bucky snorted. “Way to put on the pressure there, Stevie.”

Y/n giggled, scrunching her nose. Steve huffed, shooting Bucky a flat glare.

“You know what I meant, Buck.” He grunted, letting go of their hands. “I just mean that even though we all know, we shouldn’t change despite that. It’s still new, and besides; We still have to go through the courting ritual.”

“Ritual?” Y/N interjected with a hint of concern. “What kind of ritual?”

“Nothing bad.” Bucky soothed, tightening his hold around her waist. “We mers have a certain way about, I guess, wooing a mate.”

“It’s kind of like what you humans do when you find interesting in another.” Steve supplied. Y/N nodded, understating what they were getting at.

“So like dating?”

“If that’s what you humans call it, then yes.” Steve shrugged. He paused to carefully consider his next set of words. “Only for us, the courting ritual means there’s no one else. In the end, we mate for life.”

Y/N didn’t say anything, couldn’t really comprehend the weight of what he said. That small part of her that always wanted to get married to an amazing man, have kids, and grow old with the love of her life was vibrating with excitement. But the ugly voice of doubt reared its monstrous head. How could any of this be even possible? They were mermen, she was human. It was still mind-boggling to her that they’d sit there and claim she was their mate. Even if their race wasn’t an issue, there was still the lingering damage done by Taylor. Could she even trust them so easily with the past, the still fresh trauma that was inflicted on her by Taylor?

“Hey,” Bucky called out quietly. Y/N blinked rapidly, her thoughts taking her far from where she was. “Don’t worry about the details. It’s a worry that we can have later. Right now, all that matters are us being together.”

“Bucky’s right. We don’t need to think about the end until we get there.” Steve smiled. “For now, just be ready to be pampered and cared for like you should have been from the start.”

The smile that spread on Y/N’s face quelled some of the fears the two mermen had. Both worried she’d panic again, to try to break free and flee. Y/N seemed to jump towards a negative conclusion easily, something they figured she was more susceptible to since the trauma she endured. Perfectly reasonable too. It might take years for them to reassure her, but they already knew they’d go to the ends of the earth for her. Now just for her to see it.

“Alright, so what exactly does the courting ritual bring?”

“Well,” Bucky began, grinning up at Steve who had a similar expression. “ _You_ don’t have to do anything. Since we’re the ones who are the mers and the ones who reacted first to the pull, we get to take the lead in this.”

“All you have to do is sit back and enjoy.” Steve purred, nuzzling his nose to her neck. Y/N giggled at the flutter of his ridiculously long and thick eyelashes against her skin, squealing when nipped at her jawline. “And we wouldn’t force you to do anything. If you’re not comfortable, tell us.”

Nodding, Y/N relaxed into their arms. She snuggled back down into Bucky’s chest, a wide grin on her face. She hadn’t the slightest clue what they’d mean, but she had a feeling it was something she’d enjoy. So far, they’d done nothing to make her doubt their intentions. She’d happily take whatever they’d bring her way.

Turns out, she’d learn rather quickly what a courting ritual entailed. The rest of the day was uneventful, the three just floating about lazily until the sun began to set, soaking up the sun and listening to the waves that stirred around them. It wasn’t until Steve pulled her up to the deck that it hit her.

“You two didn’t eat all day!” She gasped. Bucky and Steve blinked. They hadn’t realized they hadn’t, but it also wasn’t a necessity they needed every day. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! You should have told me!”

“Well, you’re not wrong. But we don’t need to eat as often as you do.” Bucky explained simply. “Sometimes we hit open water and don’t find food for days. I guess over time we’ve adapted and just don’t need to eat as frequently.”

“Oh.” She uttered lamely, her face heating up from getting worked up over nothing. Bucky’s expression softened, a smile spreading on his face.

“You can worry about us.” He reassured her. “It’s nice to know you care, even if you do unnecessarily panic a little.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Steve giggled, his face a light pink. “We’ve never had anyone whose worried about us other than the two of us. And after a while, I stopped listening to him nag about things.”

“You were the one that got in a fight with that cecaelia!” Bucky snapped with an aggravated scowl. Steve threw his hands up, looking equally irritated.

“She started it!” It was true. The cecaelia hadn’t liked them hunting in her territory and came after Steve when he got to close to her den. Instead of telling them off, she tried to latch on and strangle him. Steve wasn’t one to ever back down, much to his mate’s exasperation, and rounded on the enraged creature.

“You could have just left after she told you to get out! Instead, you turned on her and punched her in the face!” Bucky remembers that quite vividly. After he swooped in and separated the two, not before Steve severed two of the octo’s legs, the cecaelia demanded they leave. Steve was so blinded by white-hot rage, he lunged and clocked her square in the nose. “I was seconds away from letting her rip off your dorsal fins!”

“She tried to claw my eyes out! You know what, no!” Steve took in a calming breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We’re not having this argument again. Forget it.”

Y/N giggled, volleying between the two during the exchange. Bucky looked ready to continue the disagreement, clearly not over the whole debacle, but she was quick to step in before their own fist was being thrown.

“Okay, I get it. The dynamics are a little out there with you too. You need someone to balance you out.” She giggled at the indignant look she received from them both. Their mouths flew open, ready to bicker with her, but she cut them off with a single hand. “Nope. I don’t wanna hear it. I can tell you’re both pretty hot-headed when it comes down to it.”

Bucky snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. At least Steve looked a little guilty.

“Look, just promise me you’ll take care of yourselves as well?” Y/N urged, reaching out to run her fingers through both their hair, gently scratching their heads with her nails. The two mermen crooned, leaning into her touch with blissful sighs. “I don’t want to worry any more than I already do about you.”

Bucky hummed happily, nodding against her hand. When she pulled her hand away, both let out a whine and twisted around to face her.

“As much as I’d love to stay I, however, have to eat too.” She giggled, rubbing a thumb on Steve’s cheek. He grinned, pressing a kiss on her palm before she pulled her hand away.

“Go eat, doll.” He urged. Bucky reached over and gently squeezed her ankle, grinning with a stupid crooked smile up at her. “We aren’t going to go far, but we need to talk with Natasha and Clint real quick.”

As he spoke, Steve’s tone seemed to slip into a strange monotone, slightly unsettling for Y/N. Her smile faltered, but before she could ask, Steve quickly shook off the look and gave her another blinding smile.

“Go on.” He shooed, chuckling low when she grumbled. “We’ll be back soon to say goodnight.”

Y/N nodded slowly, watching the two jumped back into the water. Standing at the sliding glass door, she waited until their two forms disappeared from sight, their bodies moving so quick she almost missed them in the crystal-clear water.

Even the with the setting sunlight, their blue on their fins blending seamlessly in the water, even their tanned skin concealing to the sands below. It was still amazing to her that they existed. And somehow, they claimed she was made for them. Her heart swelled and the smile she wore all day slid back in place, Steve’s ominous behavior slipping from her mind as she turned to head inside to grab something to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤️


	21. Chapter 20

The next morning, Y/N woke to a gentle tapping on the window to the glass doors. The rhythmic taps pulled her from the dreamless sleep, blearily blinking in the darkness. It was much too early, she thought.

Whoever was on the other side of the glass must have noticed her movement, the tapping picking up to a faster pace. Grumbling low, Y/N squinted towards the door as she sat up.

The two unmistakable shapes of Steve and Bucky were on the other side, the fading moonlight casting a halo around their silhouette but she knew it was them. If she wasn’t just rudely awakened, Y/N would have found the sight breathtaking. But she was never good at being woken up in the middle of the night, regardless of who it was.

Huffing, she swung her legs to the side of the bed and let out a groan. It took her a minute to find her bearings, and a quick glance at the clock told her it was 5:20 in the morning. Were they for real, she balked. What in the world did they want this early?

Apparently, she wasn’t moving fast enough for the two mers liking, Steve started tapping harder and faster. She could almost make out the shit eating grin on his face as he did so too. It caused a loud snarl to rip through her chest as she stumbled across the room and yanked the door open.

“What?” Y/N snapped, squinting down at them. Neither seemed fazed by her disgruntled mood, instead, they beamed at the sight of Y/N standing over them. Bucky reached a hand out to grab hers, but Y/N batted his hand away with a growl.

“Aw come on doll,” He chuckled, his eyes taking in her disheveled appearance. She quite literally rolled out of bed, looking less than excited to be up so early, but he still found her undeniably breathtaking. “Don’t be like that.”

She huffed, resting a hand on her hip. They stared up at her with bright wide eyes, blinking innocently. The longer she stared them down, the harder it was for her to stay irritated. She wasn’t mad, just annoyed they woke her up. Yet the longer she stared into their blue eyes she could feel it melting away.

“Why on earth are you two pounding on the door at 5 in the morning?” Y/N asked, narrowing her eyes. She tried to convey her irritation, but at the sight of their puppy dog eyes and giddy smiles, she knew it wouldn’t do much.

“Well, we wanted to show you something,” Steve answered with a slight bounce in his seat. Y/N raised a brow, glancing at Bucky as if this was his crazy idea.

“At 5 in the morning?” She repeated with a scoff.

“Yup. Go get your swimsuit on. We have to go out a bit to get where we need to.” He made a move to shoo her back into the room. Y/N’s mouth fell open, letting out an annoyed puff of air when he somehow turned her around by her ankles.

“Excuse you-!” She began but trailed off with a sigh. It was too early to argue with either of them. She wandered over to where her suit was, making a mental note to see if there was a laundry machine somewhere in the bungalow, and stepped into the walking closet to change quickly. She walked out and began to make her way towards the two waiting mermen but stopped short and made a face.

“Hang on.” She muttered and darted off to the bathroom. The two watched her through the glass hall windows, both chuckling fondly. Bucky leaned over and pressed a tender lingering kiss against Steve’s neck, bushing his lips against his sensitive gills. He grinned at the catch in Steve’s throat, batting his eyelashes at his mate when he swiveled his head around to gape at Bucky.

“Buck.” He narrowed his gaze, voice low in warning. The grin that spread on Bucky’s face was from ear to ear well aware of what he was doing. He didn’t care. He was excited about this. Steve rolled his eyes and turned his head around in time to see Y/N emerge around the hall, looking a little bit more put together. “There she is.”

Y/N’s face burned, the butterflies in her stomach exploding at the affectionate purr when he locked eyes on her. Even though she cleaned up a little, Y/N still didn’t think she was all that spectacular, yet they both looked at her like she hung the moon and the stars. Bucky perked up, smiling widely and reached out to pull her close, this time she let him willingly. She sat down with a sigh, leaning her head against Bucky’s broad chest.

“Hey now,” Bucky said with a chuckled. “I can feel you growing heavy. Don’t’ fall back asleep.” 

Y/N grumbled, scrunching her nose in distaste. When he nudged her to sit up, she whined low.

“I don’t wanna,” She moaned. Steve and Bucky laughed, shaking their heads.

“Alright, how ‘bout this. When we get in the water, you get on my back and you can sleep until we get there.” He proposed with a smirk. Y/N hummed as she considered it, nodding languidly against his chest. He smiled and shook his head. Steve snorted and pushed off the deck to the water below. “Hold on tight.”

Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck, exhaling softly when he wrapped his arms around her waist and held tight before pushing off the deck. Her stomach still dropped at the jump, but she knew Bucky wouldn’t ever let her get hurt. The water was cool, which was always a shock to her system. Bucky laughed at her squeak when they hit but didn’t say a word. He simply helped her move to his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Hold on. I’ll wake you when we get there.” Y/N nodded and hummed happily, her eyelids growing heavy at the warmth Bucky seemed to give off. Despite being in the cool water, his skin was warm and relaxing and when he began talking low to Steve as the started to tread through the water, she felt her self-getting lulled to sleep at the gentle vibrations against her chest.  

The two mermen paused when they heard a gentle snore from behind them, glancing over to see Y/N out like a light with her cheek mushed against Bucky’s right shoulder. Steve moved from Bucky’s left to his right and kissed her temple. The two didn’t say another word, letting her sleep while they swam.

A short time later, they were at the spot the two scouted for the night before. A low sandbar beside a tiny little-unhabituated island facing the vast ocean to the east. Steve pulled him up to the sandbar while Bucky gently nudged Y/N awake.

“Hey.” He pressed a kiss the side of her forehead, nuzzling his nose into the side of her face. “Wake up doll.”

He grinned at the sight of her scrunching her nose, chuckling softly when she grumbled under her breath.

“Don’t wanna.” She muttered and turned to press her face to his neck. A shiver went up his spine at the innocent touch, but he had to remind himself, they weren’t here for  _that_. He cleared his throat and gently pried her arms off his neck.

“Come on. It’ll be worth it.” He said and helped her off his back. She grumbled but let him direct her towards the sandbar where Steve was waiting to pull her to his side. She leaned against his left side, wrapping an arm around Steve’s waist while Bucky took up her right side and nestled in close.

Y/N struggled to keep her eyelids open, the only sound being made was the sound of the waves gently beating against the sandbar around them and their gentle breathing. Y/N basked in the peaceful quiet for a moment longer before curiosity got the best of her.

“This still doesn’t answer why the hell you two woke me up at the butt crack of dawn.” She griped. Steve and Bucky threw their heads back and laughed, much to her displeasure.  “What? Am I missing something?”

“No doll,” Bucky grinned, shaking his head. “Just sit back and watch.”

Y/N frowned and turned back to the horizon which was still dark with the night sky. Steve pressed a kiss to her crown and Bucky scooted impossibly closer to hold them both as best he could. Squished between them, she watched the horizon line, watching as the dark hues of blues began to turn a deep pink.

Her eyes widened with a gasp while sitting up when she realized what was happening. Bucky and Steve exchanged a look, their hearts beating faster at the look of excitement that settled across her face.

Slowly, the sun began to rise over the horizon, the light painting the sky with light pinks and brilliant oranges. She had always seen the sunset, her bungalow facing the west, but she hadn’t paid any mind to the colors of the sunrise. As it rose, the rays reached to the heavens, turning the deep blue of the night sky a vivid neon blue mixed with the cotton candy pink. The deep blue ocean turned purple against the pink sky reflection, looking straight out of a painting. Y/N was at a loss for words.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Steve asked breathlessly. His eyes never left Y/N, watching her nod in awe and he felt his heart skip a beat. He tightened his hold on her shoulder, happiness bubbling up in his chest.

“We know this was early, but it’s a sight you had to see,” Bucky said. He too had turned to watch Y/N instead of the sunset. He had seen that view countless times but seeing Y/N’s wonder and awe was a sight he had yet to memorize. The two didn’t tear their gaze away, not even when the sun had fully risen, the oranges morphing into the light sky blues as the sun rose above their heads.

Blinking, Y/N tore her gaze away from the skyline and turned to tilt her head towards Steve. She froze at his intense stare, his blue eyes swirling with an unreadable expression. A smile slid on his face, softening his features after a quiet moment of watching her close. She smiled in return, relaxing once again despite her fluttering heart. Steve seemed to battle with something, his brows furrowing for a split second before he leaned in to press a kiss to her lips.

Y/N melted into the kiss, sighing softly. It was like she kissed him the first time, her heart exploding in her chest at how soft and gentle his lips pressed against her own. He took control, a hand cradling her face to keep her in place, groaning softly into the kiss. He reluctantly pulled away, a smirk spreading across his face when she began to whimper and reached to bring him back. 

Bucky didn’t leave her time to pout, gently taking hold of her chin to turn her to face him where he bent down and kissed her soundly. She gasped at the stark difference between the two. While Steve was slow and full of lingering touches, Bucky’s was heavy and passionate.

He didn’t let up, stealing her breath from her lungs. Her hand flew up to tangle in his hair with a groan. He grinned wickedly, pulling her closer against his chest. Bucky nipped at her lower lip once, twice, before tugging her lip with his teeth before he let her go.

Y/N blinked rapidly, her mind hazy from them all but jumping her bones. She still clung to Bucky’s hair but was quickly coming back to the present time and slowly released her grip on his hair. It let him sit straight once again with a pleasant hum.

Both mers had the same grin, pleased with themselves at the dazed expression on her face. It was like a swell to their ego, seeing the effect they had on her. It also ignited their primal instincts now that they could freely show how much she meant to them.

“Well, that was…” She began, swallowing loudly. “Something else.”

“Bad something?” Bucky asked, despite knowing it wasn’t. Y/N shot him a look and pushed lightly on his chest.

“No, fortunately not.” She giggled, patting his cheek. He scrunched his nose at her, grinning madly and leaned down to rub his nose against hers. “While I’m not one to appreciate being woken up so early, I gotta admit. That was definitely worth it.”

Steve practically purred, happy she truly appreciated their first gift. He didn’t have her labeled as a material person, so he hoped that his idea of taking her to one of their favorite spots would be enough of a first gift.

“Did you really like it?” Bucky asked hopefully. Y/N nodded with a grin.

“I loved it.” She reassured them both. Bucky beamed in response, letting out his own sigh of relief. He knew she’d like it, he saw the way she lit up at the sight of the sunrise, but he still needed to hear her say it. “I did. But please next time, give me a little heads up if you want to wake me up so early.”

“Aw, but you were so cute stumbling around in the dark,” Bucky said with a laugh. She was less than impressed with his joke, rolling her eyes. Steve was quick to jump in before she could bite back.

“Fair enough. We wanted to surprise you, but for any future early morning rendezvous, we’ll make sure you know ahead of time.” Steve grinned, gently squeezing the back of her neck. Y/N hummed and leaned back.

There was only a few more moment of silence before an angry growl ripped through the air. Steve and Bucky both snapped their attention to Y/N their eyes wide with surprise. Meanwhile, Y/N felt like her face was on fire in embarrassment. She covered her stomach with a hand, mumbling an apology.

“Nothing to be sorry for, darlin’.” Steve chuckled. “Let’s get you back to have breakfast.”

Y/N nodded, giggling when Bucky lifted her up in his arms.

“What are you doing?” She questioned. Bucky didn’t respond, a mischievous glint on his face. “No, Bucky. What are you-?!”

He launched her through the air with a laugh at her answering scream. She hit the water with a splash and quickly resurfaced to shout expletives at him across the water. Steve let out an exasperated sigh and gave Bucky a flat look, completely unimpressed with his mate’s antics. Unfazed, Bucky was in the water and shot off to wrap the spitting woman in his arms. Steve appeared beside them and gently pried her from Bucky’s arms to set her on his back like earlier.

“Nope.” He answered shortly at Bucky’s protests. “You ruined it. Swim back alone.”

“Wait! I was kidding!” Bucky gasped and was chasing after them, spewing apologies that fell on deaf ears. He couldn’t see the smile on their faces, the two sharing a chuckle before Steve sped forward.  “Come back! I’m sorry!”


	22. Chapter 21

Over the next few days, Y/N found herself pampered and cared for in ways she never had been before. The two mers were already attentive and caring to begin with, but it was like a flip switched on inside them when they finally admitted she was their mate. No longer did they hold back on showing their affections, always finding an excuse to touch and hold her whenever they could. At the end of the day, they were both ten times cuddlier than they were before.

Sometimes they’d bring her small gifts, such as small pearls they fashioned into necklaces or piece of dried coral that broke off from the reef. Her favorite was when they’d find small trinkets from old shipwrecks, beaming when she’d gush about the gift. They didn’t give material objects often, but when they did, she couldn’t help the way her heart would flip at how thoughtful they were. She like the small presents just fine, but she adored how affectioned the two had become.

Before, Y/N hadn’t realized how careful and hesitant they were around her. Now, she could feel all the emotions they hid away. She also learned more about their personalities. Steve wasn’t didn’t have much of a difference, at least that’s what she thought at first. How wrong she was. He took whatever chance he could to kiss her senseless, smugly grinning when he’d pull back leaving her in a daze. She learned quickly he was the tease of their strange relationship. He could just look at her and it would always make her stomach do those crazy flips and cause her blood to rush to her cheeks.

Bucky was by far the neediest though. He’d whine and tug her to his side, despising any sort of space put between them. When the three of them would go out and swim, something she had been doing more and more with her vast amount of free time, he was like a little remora that attached to her side. Steve pointed out the comparison quite frequently, but Bucky paid him no mind. Y/N couldn’t help but be flattered, her heart fluttering with each stroke. Y/N was more than okay with the change, surprised how easily she shifted right into their relationship.

Sometimes she couldn’t help but compare them to Taylor. It wasn’t like she was trying to, Taylor was the first and only man she had ever really been with. Looking over how Bucky and Steve treated her, just even with how they looked at her, showed her that Taylor really was the pile of shit she quickly saw he was. They looked at her like she hung the moon and treated her like a queen.

Taylor never really tried the way these two did. He did little things when they first began their relationship, but after they become ‘official’ it was like he stopped caring. Now she realized how intentional each action was. Taylor did things to make sure she didn’t question their ‘relationship’. He manipulated her, twisted her idea of what they were to fit his agenda. She knew Bucky and Steve would never do the same to her.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Bucky asked. Y/N blinked, tilting her face in his direction. The three of them were snuggled up laid out in the sands on one of the surrounding islands. The wave crashed against the shore, the comforting sound lulling her to sleep where she laid securely between the mermen.  She must not have noticed the two stop their conversation when they realized she stopped contributing.

“It’s nothing.” She sighed, pressing a kiss against the shoulder she rested on in hopes to reassure him. Bucky didn’t believe her. He saw that far off look in her eyes. Scoffing, he poked her side, chuckling low at her squeal.

“Come on.” He whined. “Tell me what you’re thinking about.”

Letting out a sigh, she shrugged. Steve frowned, sensing that she troubled.

“Y/N,” Steve said with a soft smile. He ran a finger down her cheek and tipped her chin up in his direction. “You don’t have to tell us, but we’d love to know what’s caused you to get all scrunchy.”

“I’m not scrunchy.” Y/N giggled, trying to skew her face back to a normal expression. She was finding it hard with the expression on Steve’s face that clearly told her he wasn’t buying it. Bucky snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, you are. Your face gets all scrunch when you’re thinking about something negative.” Once again, he poked her at her stomach. She squealed once more and attempted to wiggle away from him as best she could. Bucky wasn’t having it. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest with an iron grip. Steve let her go, grinning when he caught sight at the glint in Bucky’s eyes. Y/N wasn’t given any warning, Bucky dove right in and began to tickle her incessantly.

“Stop! Uncle!” She cried, tears beginning to streak down her face. Bucky’s laughter mixed with her breathless giggles, beaming as he continued to attack her sides. “I’ll talk!”

Bucky slowed his attack, smirking when she let out a louder cry for him to stop. Eventually, he gave in to her begging demands and settled for holding her sides. Both mers waited for her to catch her breath, finding it hard to keep their eyes from falling to where her chest rose and fell with each pant for air.

“It wasn’t anything bad.” Y/N exhaled. Her heart still hammered in her chest, but she was finally able to slow her breathing. Bucky nudged to her to continue, smirking when she jumped. She shot him a half-hearted glare but continued on. “I was thinking about you two and how so far, you’re nothing like Taylor.”

The two mermen tensed, their muscles going taunt against her body. Quickly, Y/N reached out to cup both their cheeks.

“Let me finish.” She soothed, rubbing her thumb along both their cheekbones. “I’ve been comparing how Taylor treated me before, how he didn’t even care enough to learn about me. Whereas you two have only known me for what? Two weeks at the most, and it seems like we’ve known each other an entire lifetime.

You don’t expect things of me, you don’t treat me like a child. I thought about how Taylor treated me, how he controlled me was normal. It was all I knew. But being here, with you two, I realized that things are better. So much better than I could have ever imagined. I mean yeah, the guy tried to kill me, and that’s something that’s going to haunt me for a long time. But when I’m with you both… It’s like nothing else matters.”

Bucky’s felt his breath hitch in his throat, tears springing up to his eyes. If you’d have asked him three weeks ago if he thought he was a sentimental sap, and he’d have called you crazy. He knew Steve was his life, but in all the years they’ve been together as a mated pair, he never cried as much as he had now. With a quick glance over to his other mate, he saw Steve had a similar expression. He had bit his lip, his cheeks flushing from happiness.

“What I’m trying to say is, while I wish things were different with how we met, I wouldn’t ever trade it for the world. You both treated me so wonderfully and make me feel on top of the world. There’s no doubt in my mind you two actually care for me.”

Steve tried to hide his tears by ducking his head into Y/N’s neck, kissing the skin where her gills would have been. Bucky followed to do the same, practically purring when she wrapped her arms around their necks and began running her fingers through their hair. She hummed, tilting her head back to give them better access, her eyes fluttering shut. She knew what they were trying to do, and she couldn’t help but flush at the heady kisses they peppered along the column of her neck. Steve found the spot on her neck that pulled a breathy moan from her and he smirked. Yep, she knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish.

This was another thing that changed in their dynamics. The two mers didn’t hold back from kissing her skin, anywhere and everywhere at any time. They couldn’t get enough of her and neither could she. They loved dragging her down into the depths of the ocean, holding her securely between them and spending as much time as they could memorizing each dip and curve. They wanted to know everything they could about her, including what exactly she liked.

However, even with all the heavy petting and hour-long make-out sessions they had, neither had pushed it further than that. Y/N wasn’t sure she was ready for  _that_ just yet; there were a number of reasons why she was apprehensive. For one, she hadn’t the slightest idea how they’d even managed to have sex.

She was human, they clearly weren’t. She didn’t know if they could even have sex with. To completely honest, it was a thought that kept her up at night. It was a question she desperately wanted to know the answer to but wasn’t even remotely ready to touch that topic with a ten-foot pole. She was still getting used to the idea she was mates with the two. For now, she enjoyed what they had.

Steve and Bucky had an idea she wasn’t ready. It wasn’t something they brought up yet either, but with how heavy things were becoming, it would only be a matter of time before the two mers broached the subject. They’d need to tell her what happened, how things would go down if and when she was ready. For now, they were happy with simply showering her with affections. They also knew that she would never truly be happy until Taylor was taken care of and out of her life.

Bucky was the first to pull back, sighing softly and leaned back on his elbows against the sand. Y/N cracked an eyelid open, watching Bucky turn to look out and watch the open water. Steve sensed the shift in his mate. Reluctantly, he pulled back and reached over to Bucky.

“Now what’s on your mind?” He asked. Bucky chuckled softly and shook his head.

“I’m just over thinking things I guess.” He spoke sadly. Y/N twisted out of Steve’s arms and scooted over to Bucky side.

“You turn to spill.” She pressed, grinning widely at the now blushing merman. Bucky dipped his chin, sheepishly grinning.

“As long as you don’t tickle me I will.” He chuckled. Y/N faked a move, pretending to dig her nails into his side. He snorted and gently grabbed her wrist. Pulling her hand up to his mouth, he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles before beginning.

“I just can’t believe anyone would ever try to hurt you. It’s just mind-boggling to think that someone, out there in the world, wants you dead. All for money.” His brows knitted together, anger bubbling up in his chest. “I knew some humans could be bad, we’ve seen enough first hand. This is the worst we’ve seen yet. I just get so angry every time I think about him.”

Y/N flinched when his grip tightened on her wrist. She forgot as a mer, he was stronger than a normal man. This wasn’t intentional, but it still didn’t mean it wasn’t painful. She bit her lip and tried to rotate her wrist from the vice grip he had. Bucky still hadn’t realized how tight his grip had become, too lost in his thoughts to notice.

“I just want to be able to protect you, and the fact that you’re human, and I’m not-it’s just-.” He snarled, turning his head away. His grip tightened further, and Y/N could hold back the whimper.

Steve let out a gasp, realizing now that Bucky was too firm on his grip, and reached over Y/N’s shoulder to pry her free. Slowly, she pulled it back to cradle it against her chest, rubbing at the sore muscles. Bucky’s eyes went wide with alarm, his eyes snapping to her injured arm with. “Shit, doll. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine, Buck.” Y/N tried to reassure him, she reached out with her uninjured arm to brush his drying hair from his face.

Bucky flinched, leaning his body as far back as he could. His eyes were still wide as the horror of what he done settled in. He couldn’t tell if the skin was bruising, but he knew he could have snapped her wrist without breaking a sweat. He had hurt her. The one person he promised to never let anything happen to, got hurt because of him. Because he was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he missed her flinches of pain.

“Hey, it’s okay.” She repeated, reaching out once more. Bucky shook his head, heart rate picking and his blood running cold. It was getting harder for him to breathe, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Steve saw the panic attack a mile away and all but climbed over Y/N’s body to get to Bucky.

He wasn’t quick enough, Bucky shoved off the sand and dipped into the waves.

“Bucky!” Both Steve and Y/N shouted for him to come back, but he was already disappearing into the water.

Steve was torn. He didn’t want to leave Y/N, she was alone on an island. However, Bucky was his mate as well, and his mate was in distress. He couldn’t stop from looking back and forth between the two of them, his heartbreaking.

“Go.”

Steve jumped, pulled from his racing thoughts as he turned to Y/N. She smiled sadly and pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

“Go after him. I’m fine. The main island is right there, and I’ll swim back. You need to go help him. I’ll only slow you down.”

Nodding, Steve kissed her soundly before he too dipped into the water and shot off after Bucky. Y/N watched him disappear, her own heart breaking at the thought of Bucky’s pain. He really didn’t mean to hurt her. She knew that. Of course, being the more sensitive one, he’d jump to the worse conclusion. She could only hope that maybe Steve could calm him down enough to bring him back.  They had done everything they could to make her feel safe and accepted, now she realized it was her turn to reassure them both.

While Y/N hadn’t the slightest clue on where their future would take them, she needed them to know she was ready to be in it for the long haul.

While deep in her thoughts, she missed how the water parted and a familiar red head popped up with her mate by her side. They watched her for a moment before Natasha swam closer.

“Hey.” Y/N squeaked, head whipping around to her right where Natasha was smirking in the water. She pouted but waved reluctantly. “You good? They both flew out of here pretty quick.”

Y/N sighed and shrugged.

“Kind of. Something happened and Bucky kind of had a panic attack.”

“Let me guess. He ran away?” Natasha asked.

“Y-yeah. How’d you know?”

“Bucky was always the one more in tuned to his emotions, he grew up with his mother and sisters. Steve was always the one who felt he had to be a little tougher, his heart less on his sleeve so to speak.”

Y/N stopped to study Natasha. She hadn’t realized how little she knew of the redhead and her mate. Most of the time she spent with Steve and Bucky, so she was never given the chance. It also dawned on her that while Steve and Bucky knew everything about her, she knew very little about them.  Natasha, however, grew up with them. Both Steve and Bucky had admitted she was like a sister to them.

“Hey, Natasha?”

Natasha cocked her head to the side, a soft smile on her face. She noticed the tone Y/N was using. Y/N was a bit apprehensive about what she was about to ask, but from how both mers hadn’t left her yet, she had a feeling they wouldn’t mind.  

“Yes Y/N?”

“I was wondering, do you think you can help with a few things?”


	23. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY!!! I UPDATED LIKE LAST WEEK ON MY TUMBLR BUT COMPLETELY FORGOT TO UPDATE HERE!! THANK YOU EVERY ONE WHOSE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS STORY FOR SO LONG AND I'M SO SORRY I FORGOT!! I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!! ❤❤❤

“It was so dark Bucky was able to swim up underneath the late-night swimmers and pulled off one of the guy’s swimsuit bottoms.” Natasha laughed, shaking her head at the memory. She was leaning back against Clint’s chest sitting on the deck of the bungalow after swimming with Y/N over from the beach. Y/N sat against one of the pulled up deck chairs, giggling uncontrollably at the stories Natasha was spilling. “The funniest part was watching the guy panic surrounded by two other women. He was mortified. The last thing we saw was the two women howling at the sight of his stark pale ass streaking up the beach holding his crotch.”

“Why in the world would Bucky do that?” Y/N wheezed, whipping the tears from the corners of her eyes. Natasha shrugged, chocking on air. She waved Clint off when showed concerned and kept on going.

“Not sure, Steve was pissed. I thought it was funny. Probably why he did it in the first place.” She giggled. “He was always easy to goad into doing things. You’d say he can’t do something and his pride goes rearing its ugly head, and next thing you know he’s trying to kiss a jellyfish. That’s the number one reason why we got an in trouble a lot when we were younger. His mother was always so frustrated. She had no idea why or where he got that characteristic. I still say it’s his sister Rebecca. She liked to goad him too. We’d tag team sometimes when our pods lived close.”

“Wait, isn’t that how you got that scar down your back?” Clint asked, pushing aside her hair to look at the long gash. Natasha laughed and nodded with a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, but I kind of deserved it. I was poking fun at him, one thing led to another and he shoved me against the edge of a sharp coral.” She shrugged having spent years kicking herself for pushing him so hard. “It’s the only time I’ve seen him flip from pure unbridled rage to instant regret. I mean there were tears and everything.”

Y/N let out a heavy sigh, looking out to the ocean around her. Over the past few hours, she had sat and talked with Natasha, getting to know more about the two mermen in her life. The stories Natasha told her only served to prove what wonderful and caring mermen they were. She learned little things she wasn’t sure they’d ever admit they’d done. Natasha held no secret back. While she didn’t tell her much about how the two realized they were a mated pair, that was for Y/N to ask herself, but she didn’t hold back from telling the most embarrassing stories either. It made her laugh, but it also severed o remind Y/N that they were not there with her. 

“Hey.” Y/N blinked, slowly turning back to Natasha at her voice. Natasha had noticed how every few minutes she’d turn to the ocean, searching for Steve or Bucky to return. It was still a strange thought. Y/N, a human, was their mate, even if it didn’t make any sense to any of them. “They’ll come back.”

Y/N nodded, glancing down at her wrist. It didn’t hurt anymore, the skin no longer tender. It was such a small accidental act. He didn’t mean it. She knew that. It hurt that she couldn’t be there to comfort him, to tell him just that. However, she could only dream of keeping up with them in the water despite being able to breathe underwater. She wasn’t born with fins after all.

“If it makes you feel any better, they feel the same only stronger.”

“What?” Y/N frowned.

“They feel the bond more than you. If you were a mer, then there would have been no doubt about it and you’d feel the same intensity.” Natasha smiled and motioned to the blue water with her chin. “I can see you looking for them. You feel restless, right?”

Y/N nodded slowly. Clint grinned and pressed a kiss to the back of Natasha’s head.

“That’s proof you’re their mate then.” He said, his eyes never leaving Natasha. “When you’re with them, you feel at peace, right? You have no cares in the world, you want only to be with them forever, right?”

Once again, Y/N nodded. Her heart was beginning to race, and the stark realization settled in. They were. She knew they said it, they repeated the phrase to her all the time, but that little part in her brain doubted it. Yet, now that she thought about it, she realized it was the only answer. They were everything. She couldn’t help but wonder if they looked at her was the same way Clint look at Natasha, with hearts in their eyes.

“Nothing else matters but when you’re with them, right?” Clint reluctantly tore his gaze from Natasha and looked over her head to Y/N. She couldn’t help but nod. Nothing else did. Not the whole thing with Taylor, not her life back home. It didn’t matter because they weren’t there with her.

“Oh my god.” Y/N gasped. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth with wide eyes. Clint chuckled, and Natasha rolled her eyes.

“What? You’re just now realizing it?” Natasha snorted. Y/N shot her a glare before throwing her hands up in the air.

“I mean no! Not really.” She made a noise in the back of her throat, a mix of a groan and whine. “I just- I didn’t- Ugh, I don’t know!”

“It’s alright.” Natasha tried to soothe her, reaching the short distance to pat Y/N’s leg.  “It’s a lot to take for a human. Your kind doesn’t have this to worry about. I kind of envy you a little.”

Clint let out a shocked gasped, making Y/N giggle at the indignant glower he gave to the back of her head. Natasha seemed unfazed and continued.

“I mean, I wouldn’t want it any other way. But you don’t have to worry about the pain when you’re away. You only feel it a little. With us, it’s like a piece is ripped from us and it wouldn’t get any better until their back at our side. I can’t imagine why they’ve left you as long as they have. Bucky must have been taking this harder than I would have guessed.” Natasha trailed off and looked back over to the horizon. She knew they had to be hurting, it wasn’t enjoyable to be away from your mate for long. “Don’t worry. They’ll come back.”

Y/N nodded solemnly, lowering her gaze to the water below watching the waves crash against the wooden poles and tails of the two mers on the deck. Neither of the three said another word, letting the sound of the waves and the distant call of gulls fill the quiet. Clint was the first to move, gently nudging Natasha awake after the sun began to set.

“We’re going to go ahead and let you rest.” He said, grinning at the grumble Natasha sent his way. Y/N grinned and bade them goodnight, watching the two jump in the water and disappear from sight. She stayed for a moment longer, watching and waiting. When neither of the mermen appeared, she let out another sigh and slowly stood. That night she slept with the glass doors to her room open, an invitation for them to wake her whenever they decided to come back.

She fell asleep with a heavy heart, and the little voice in her head repeating ‘I told you so.’ Ignoring it the best she could, she let her eye closed and could only wish she’d wake to the two mers at her doorstep.

~~~

When Y/N rolled over the next morning, she wasn’t surprised to see the doorway to the deck empty. Sighing, she swung her legs over the bed and made her was to take a long hot shower in hopes it would keep her mind from wandering. It did little to help, but once she was done she felt refreshed and a little more comfortable.

Casting another long glance to the empty deck, she went to the kitchen to make herself breakfast, humming softly under her breath. She had just finished eating and was standing at the sink washing her plate when she heard the familiar wet splash of someone pulling themselves out the water. Taking in a shaky breath she slowly twisted around, hoping she wasn’t hearing things wrong.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Bucky and Steve sitting with their backs to the door, Bucky nestled against Steve’s side with his head tucked under Steve’s chin. Not wanting to seem too overeager, Y/N finished cleaning her dishes and set them on the drying rack.

Her feet slowly took her across the room, her heart pounding in her chest. Y/N stopped behind them, wringing her hands in front of her. Bucky was the first to feel her gaze. His shoulders tensed, and he slowly turned his head around in search of Y/N. She gave him a meek smile, seeing the hesitation written all over his face.

Bucky was at war with himself, he had been all night. He hated how easily he forgot his strength, he knew she was weaker and should have kept his emotions in check. However, when it came to her, Bucky just lost his cool. Steve had tried all night to convince him she knew it was an accident. For the most part, he believed Steve. He was stubborn to a fault though, nearly convincing himself that he’d screw up again and hurt her worse next time. Seeing her standing at the edge of the deck tugged at his heartstrings, and he knew it wasn’t something he should linger on. She clearly didn’t seem to.

The expression in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She had been worried about him, the dark circles under her eyes were evidence enough. When she didn’t race to his side, he knew she was being careful. Bucky could tell she was holding back.

He tried to give her a reassuring smile and opened his arms to welcome her in. Y/N let out a sigh of relief before taking large steps to cross the deck into his open arms. Steve twisted around, letting her slide right between them into a tight embrace.

Y/N clung to Bucky, burring her face into his neck. He whispered soft words of reassurance, cradling her head in his hands as he muttered his apologies for abandoning her. She tried to argue, she wanted to, but he wasn’t giving her any room to do so. So, she sat and let him get everything off his chest, only responding with a tighter grip. Steve listened intently, pushing her oversized shirt sleeves up to pepper kisses along her skin.

Eventually, Bucky ran out of things to apologize for, and a comfortable silence fell over them. None of the three said another word. It wasn’t needed. At least not in that moment.  All they needed was to be there with the other, to fill the void that settled in from their time apart. There wasn’t a care, not a worry. They didn’t have to focus on what was to come at the moment, the three were none the wiser.


	24. Chapter 23

“Wait. Explain that to me again?”

Sharon bit back a growl, her eyes hardening at the man sitting in front of her. He was staring at her in surprise, his eyes wide. She could tell he was trying to fake surprise, trying to appear hopeful. Yet there was a flash of fury that sparked in his eyes before he carefully schooled his features. It clearly wasn’t what he wanted to hear, especially not with what Sharon knew about him. Her jaw clenched in aggravation, but she smoothed out her face. Now wasn’t the time to blow this.

“Of course.” Flipping open the folder, she set in before him. The DNA results from the stained blood on the clothes of his missing fiancé’s clothes stared up at them. Pointing to the numbers she went over what they meant. “It means that their match isn’t the same as the hair you brought me from her hairbrush. The tech tried and tried, but the data doesn’t lie. This isn’t her blood. It’s not even human.”

Silence rang through the room, Taylor unable to find words. He couldn’t speak right away he was certain he’d say something he hadn’t mean to. If that wasn’t her blood, then what was it? Why? How did they find her clothes and it not be her blood?

He scrambled to find something to respond with, but every question he wanted answered he knew that it would blow holes in his alibi and his façade. Clearing his throat, he decided to ask the only thing he knew wouldn’t raise many flags.

“Alright.” He said with a slight tremble. “So, what does this mean?”

Sharon narrowed her eyes and snapped the folder shut. Taylor flinched at the sharp sound, his heart beginning to beat in his chest.

“It means a few things. She could still be dead somewhere and whoever killed her kept her clothes to throw in the ocean later covered in blood to try and cover his tracks. Or she could still be alive somewhere. Which is what we’re hoping for.” Sharon paused, watching the way Taylor squirmed in his seat. She bit the inside of her cheek and kept on. “If anything, it means that there’s no way you’ll get a death certificate until we’re one hundred percent certain she’s dead. For now, this is going to move back to a missing person case.”

“What?” Taylor recoiled as if the very sentence lashed out and struck him across the cheek. She watched how his eyes flashed with anger and struggled to keep a grin from creeping across her lips. He was reacting exactly how Fury said he would. Good. “Why not?”

“Well. It’s only been three weeks since she’s disappeared. I understand you have to go back home, and while we’re not keeping you here since you’ve given us no reason to assume you’re the cause of her disappearance, we can not simply give you a death certificate until we know for certain she’s dead.”

“How then?” Taylor pressed. He gripped the armchairs, his finger digging into the plastic arms of the seat. Sharron knew he was struggling to contain his rage. Taylor was trembling in the seat, his rage building by the second. Sharon simply raised a brow with pursed lips.

“We would know until either, A. we find a body or B. the person in question has been reported missing for 7 years without a trace,” Sharron answered coolly as she stood from her seat. Taylor was scowling by now, his leg shaking up and down. “I’m sorry if this doesn’t give you the peace of mind you wanted, however, this is a good thing. It means that there’s a chance she’s still out there.”

Taylor nodded and tried to hide his gritted teeth with a toothy grin. It almost came off manic instead, but Sharron decided not to pay him any mind. It wasn’t a part of the plan. She quickly glanced at her watch, frowning at the time on the analog face.

“I hate to be curt, but I have an appointment I can’t miss.” She cast an uninterest glance at where he sat in the seat next to her desk. “I’m sure you know you’re way out. Don’t worry. We plan on finding your fiance and bringing her back to you.”

With that, Sharron turned and walked away, leaving Taylor stewing in the seat. He tried to stifle a snarl that ripped from his chest, but it was too much. This whole thing blew a hole in his plans. Quickly glancing around the precinct, he relaxed when he saw no one noticed his slip up. He had to get out of here before he made a fool of himself, so he did just that and all but ran out the front door.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Even dead this woman haunted him. He did everything right like all the times before, yet for somehow she was still fighting, even at the bottom of the ocean. He knew she wasn’t alive, there was no way. What he thought was a blessing in disguise only severed to hinder his plans.

Before he had assumed a shark found her body. It had to be that with the way the clothes were shredded and bloodied. He was completely certain he wasn’t the one who tore her clothes up and covered them in blood. As a matter of fact,  now that he knew the truth, how did her clothes end up like that? Thinking back to the day he was called in to identify the clothing, a light bulb turned on in his head causing him to stop in the middle of the sidewalk. That fisherman and the woman, they had to be the answer

Taylor shook his head, trying to clear his head and straighten out his thoughts. No, he wasn’t thinking straight. However, when he glanced around the busy tourist street, he froze when he caught sight of the same two people down the street. Well speak of the devil and he’d appear. Taylor watched as the man and woman stepped into a corner convenience store, the women on the phone. He wasn’t sure what he had planned, but Taylor knew he’d needed answers.

The door chimed when he stepped into the store and Taylor began to search the aisle until he spotted them at the end of one of the food isles. The woman was off the phone now and was staring at some bags of chips while the man was looking through his own. Taylor ducked behind one of the aisles and faked interest in whatever was sitting on the shelves.

“Just pick a damn chip bag, Maria.” The man quipped. The woman, Maria, seemed unfazed by his snapping. She scratched her head and looked between the bags.

“I’m not going to get her chips she won’t like.” She countered. That pulled a groan from the man.

“For Christ sake-just call her back. I doubt Y/N is doing anything important if you just got off the phone with her.” He grumbled. Taylor froze, his blood running cold at the name. No, he thought, it couldn’t be. It had to be someone else, right? “Look whatever. You find her food, I’m going to go find the shampoo and conditioner she asked for.”

Taylor listened as the man walked off, holding his breath the whole time. Eventually, he assumed Maria picked a bag, he heard the chip bags rustle and then her retreating footsteps down the aisles.

Taylor snatched a can of peas off the shelf and went in search of them, finding them filling up the little hand basket with hair products and toothpaste. He caught sight of the brands and felt a wave a deja vu. They were all brands that Y/N used to prefer. He remembers them vividly, he did practically live with the woman for a while. Every so often he’d play the good boyfriend act and go out to buy them whenever she needed something. Come to think of it, that entire basket was filled with her favorites. Favorite foods, body care items, even drinks she preferred filled the little basket. How did this couple know that?

Suddenly, he found it harder to breathe, his lungs felt tight in his chest and his blood pressure skyrocketed. It couldn’t be true, there’s just no way. It was just one big crazy coincidence. Yeah that was is, he told himself. There is absolutely no way she’s alive. He’s just starting to get paranoid, this is taking too long compared to the others. He had to get out. He couldn’t breathe.

Abandoning the can on a shelf, Taylor stumbled out of the store, gasping for air as he ran. He didn’t glance back behind him, he couldn’t dare to give them another look. If he did, he would have caught the calculative look Fury sent his way, and how Maria didn’t even try to hide her smirk. Once the door shut behind Taylor, Maria turned back to fury. So far, everything’s gone to plan. They could only hope Taylor was as predictable as they thought and did what they assumed he’d do next.  Only patience and time would tell.


	25. Chapter 24

Y/N slowly put the phone on the receiver, a frown on her face. That was interesting, she thought. Maria had called her up and asked her if she wanted anything from town. That was normal, what wasn’t was how the woman seemed to not want to let her off the phone. She kept talking on and on about anything and everything, cutting Y/N off whenever she thought she was about to tell Maria goodbye. Yet then suddenly, Maria said goodbye and promptly hung up. It was bizarre.

“What did Maria want?” Bucky called from his usual spot on the deck, leaning against Steve’s side, whose arm was securely around his waist. Y/N was still frowning as she crossed the room and sat beside Bucky.

“I’m… Not entirely sure.” She mumbled. Bucky tugged her against his side, burying his nose in hair as he took in a deep breath. Y/N giggled, curling into the ticklish touch and Bucky couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on his face.

“Well, we don’t have to worry right now.” Steve hummed, letting go of Bucky to rub her lower back instead. She sighed and nodded, relaxing into Bucky’s side.

What happened the other day was still a touchy subject, Bucky would flinch each time she moved her wrists or showed any signs of discomfort. There were numerous times that she and Steve had reassured him it was in the past and she was fine, but Bucky was stubborn. Sometimes it was like having a kicked puppy follow her around, he always looked so sad. Then she’d look at him with a sweet reassuring smile and it was like all his bad thoughts melted away. He’d forget his woes and would focus on her and Steve, at least for the time being.

Today was a good day. Bucky didn’t seem to wallow in his misery and was touchy all day. Steve was floating on cloud nine, grinning stupidly at them both when one or both would catch him staring with a dreamy stare. They hadn’t wanted to go out to swim for once, both mers wanted nothing more but to stay close to the bungalow with Y/N wrapped in their arms. So far, they hadn’t let her far, with the exception of her answering the phone. A phone call that still bothered her.

“What are you thinkin’ about?” Bucky implored, gently nudging her side. He saw he face scrunch, a tell she was deep in an unhappy thought. Y/N let out a sigh and shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I’m probably just over thinking things. But I can’t shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen.” Y/N answered solemnly. It was true, she had this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she could shake. It was there this morning when she woke up, and then it turned heavier with that phone call.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much right now.” Steve shrugged, not wanting to drag the two down any further than they have been for the past few days. It wasn’t a feeling he wanted to ignore, he knew to follow his instinct when it starts to scream, but right now, there was little they could do. Y/N was still safe with them, and as far as he was concerned, that was all that mattered. He leaned down and pressed a kiss into Bucky’s hair, humming softly when Bucky leaned back into the kiss.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Y/N sighed and pressed a nuzzled further into Bucky’s side. She shoved aside the nagging feeling, instead choosing to bask in the tranquility she felt from being safe in the arms of the two mermen.  

A peaceful calm fell over the three while they sat and watched the waves of the ocean beneath them. Every so often a school of tropical fish would brave it and swim close, their brightly colored bodies gleaming in the clear blue waters, a stark contrast to the white sands below. The rhythmic sounds of the waves soothed Y/N, along with the steady breathing and heartbeat of Bucky, lulling her to a light sleep.

Bucky heard her heavy breathing and felt her body go slack against his side. He caught her before she slid forward, smiling at the fact that she felt so comfortable around them that she was so willing to let her guard down. Trying not to wake her, he carefully moved her to his lap where she immediately curled against his chest with her nose tucked securely under his chin. He felt his cheeks burn and his stomach did backflips when she settled and let out a satisfied sigh. Bucky looked over to Steve whose eyes were glued on her serene face, memorizing every detail and feature.

“We’re really in deep, huh?” Bucky whispered. Steve hummed and pulled his attention back to Bucky. Bucky let out a soft chuckle through his nose, the corner of his lip twitching. “Look at you, absolutely smitten.”

“Coming from the merman that can’t keep his hands off her.” Steve snorted, rolling his eyes at his mate’s accusation. 

Bucky smirked but couldn’t deny it. Yes, he was still nervous he might hurt her; however, she was his mate. He’d always want her close, that was a given. Y/N might not feel the pull they did, she still craved for their touch. Her unconsciously moving closer in her sleep was proof of that. A thought crossed through Bucky’s mind, causing him to inhale sharply from shock. It couldn’t to soon to think he loved her yet, right?

“Bucky?” Steve asked, his brows creasing with concern. Bucky shook off the notion, pushing it away to worry for later.

“I’m good. Just worried what we’re going to do about her ex.” He bit, his jaw clenching at even mentioning her pile of shit ex. Bucky had a reoccurring dream of meeting Taylor, where he dragged her ex down to the ocean floor to watch as the monster thrashed and struggled to fight to the surface. In his dream, Bucky would let him, giving him the false hope, he might survive only to let him choke on the water in his lungs as he strained to breathe in the air before Bucky dragged him back to the ocean floor.

Another, Bucky thought to break his legs and arms, so that he would sink to the bottom of the ocean like he had done to Y/N. Bucky would not give her ex the same ‘service’ that was done to her; he would remain conscious and unable to move without pain and suffering as his life drained from his eyes.  All dreams ended the same. Right before the life would drain from the monster’s body, Bucky would rip his throat out and watch the blood pour from his body.

To any other, the dreams might be haunting. To Bucky, it was a reality he wanted true. A reality that someday, he just might get the chance. The man tried to kill his mate. In the mers world, when you attempt to harm another’s mate, it means you have a likely death sentence. Bucky highly doubted the man was anywhere near strong enough to fight back.

“You went somewhere again.” Steve’s voice pulled Bucky from his thoughts, leaning forward. Bucky blinked rapidly.

“Sorry. I know, I’ve been doing that a lot today.” He sighed and tightened his arms around Y/N’s sleep frame.

“It’s alright, but if you need to talk, I’m here for you.” Steve reminded him. 

Bucky always was more in tune with his emotions, sometimes losing himself to his primal instincts. He had seen the look that flashed across Bucky’s face before, Steve knew what it meant. 

They had already gone off to Natasha and discussed the things they learned. Partly, they needed to vent to someone who understood their protectiveness, who was willing to offer a second unbiased opinion. Y/N certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable with what they may or may not have planned if they ever came across Taylor. It was in their nature to be protective, to fight and fend their territory.

“Don’t think about it too much right now.” Steve continued, looking out over the water. He stopped short when he noticed a small speck quickly coming up over the horizon. 

Bucky followed his gaze, the two of them tensing as an incoming boat came closer. It was still nerve-wracking, sitting out in the open. The deck faced the open waters, their blue tails no doubt out of place along the light wood and white outside walls of the bungalow. Fortunately, they recognized both Fury and Maria in the boat as it came closer into focus.

“Wonder what they were doing.” Bucky pounder aloud. He turned his gaze away, more interest in checking on Y/N, who was still out like a light.

“I don’t know, but that feeling Y/N was talking about is growing the closer they get.” Whatever it was, that trepidation was growing with each foot closer, the boat cutting through the water as Fury turned it to the dock further down the beach. When they were docked, Maria stepped out with her arms full of bags and shouting something over her shoulder to Fury as she made her way down the wooden dock.

Bucky and Steve watched like hawks, curious about what Maria might need. She usually would drop in whenever they were out as if she didn’t want to impose. They weren’t against Maria visiting, they did like the woman, but there was something about her that seemed oddly familiar. Neither could seem to place it, but it was like they knew her somehow.

Maria noticed their stares, no doubt feeling them boring daggers into her face. She waved with a smile and walked around the sand to the front door. Steve twisted around and listened while she unlocked the door with the spare key and walked in.

“Good afternoon.” She greeted a tad too loud, her voice bouncing off the walls. Steve mumbled a hello, and Bucky twisted around with a scowl. Maria’s stepped faltered, surprised at the irritation on his face. Steve was quick to jump in to reassure her.

“Y/N’s asleep.” His voice was low, but loud enough to echo across the room.

“Ah,” Maria said and placed the bags on the counter in the kitchen. She sifted through the bags, tucking things away in the fridge and putting things in the cupboard before grabbing the last two. “I bought her some more clothes and she asked for more variety of swimsuits. I’m going to put them in her room.”

Steve nodded and watched intently, Maria disappearing down the hall and into her room. She was back a few seconds later without the bags. Stepping into the threshold of the door, she leaned her shoulder against the door jam with her arms crossed. Bucky’s arm tightened around Y/N, instinctively protecting her for reasons he wasn’t sure. The corners of Maria’s mouth twitched, but she managed to keep her face smooth.

“We talked with the detective in charge of her case,” Maria spoke after a moment of consideration. Steve and Bucky both sat straighter, their eyes now trained on Maria. “Turns out, there’s more to this problem than we thought.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bucky questioned carefully. Maria studied him, carefully choosing her next set of words.

“It means that Y/N might not be as safe as we believe she is.”

Steve felt his stomach drop, the fear that she might be in danger once again bubbled to the surface. He flashed Bucky a panicked look before turning to Y/N still asleep in Bucky’s arms.

“So. What do you plan on doing?” Bucky asked with a slight bite in the edge of his tone. Maria raised a brow, and Bucky fought to bite back a growl. “I won’t have my mate living in constant danger because of that fuck. So, I repeat; what do you plan on doing?”

Maria snorted, the grin winning its battle. Bucky bristled, somewhat offended she was finding this so humorous. This was his mate, the woman he was quickly learning to love. She was in danger, yet again, and this strange woman was finding the whole ordeal amusing.

“Calm down. We have a plan,” Maria waved a hand, stopping him short. “Or at least a start of one. For now, she’ll be safe here, but Fury and I need her to come up to the main house later tonight so we can talk with her more in detail about this.”

“Why not here?” Bucky asked, once again defensively. He didn’t want her from his sight now. There was a couch, they could meet here.

“Because there’s very little you two can do to help,” Maria stated flatly, once again crossing her arms across her chest.

Bucky grumbled but knew she was right. He’d never wished to be human before, he’d seen how horrible the race could be and wanted little to do with them. Yet right now he was cursing his existence with a tail and not two legs, so he could go hunt this man down and rip him to shreds.

“Look, it’s not anything that will affect the day to day for you three, she just needs to know of what to do in case she’s found.” Maria tried to reassure them, but unsurprisingly that only set the two into a deeper spiral of fear.

“What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” It was Steve’s turn to get defensive. He grit his teeth, his fist balled into fists on his lap. “How would she be found? I thought she was safe here?”

“She is. But this is a just in case.” Maria pushed off the door jam, smoothing out her shirt. “I don’t think she’ll be found, I highly doubt it. Just on the off chance something happens and Taylor comes across this island and sees her, she needs to know how to get out safe.”

Bucky and Steve opened their mouth to argue, Maria cut them off with a raised hand.

“Nope. I get it. You’re protective of you’re mate. But you have to understand things run differently in the human world than the mers.” She leveled them both with a flat stare, a slight flash of something sparkling in her eyes. “We need to do things by the book, and as much as you don’t like it, if they find out that he’s been harmed by one of us, despite his past, we’ll get in trouble. The case might be tossed out, and we humans don’t want that.”

Steve frowned, confused. It seemed like she was implying but he couldn’t read her tone. Maria waited for them to respond before she repeated herself.

“Again, we humans, can’t do anything to him. Especially if we leave a trail. So Y/N needs to know what to do in case he finds her.” Maria locked eyes with both mermen, nodding once before she turned to the door. “Let Y/N know to come later tonight.”

Without waiting for a response, Maria walked out of the bungalow, leaving the two stunned mers to mull over her words. Once again, that dread settled in the pit of their stomach, but now they knew why. They turned to watch Y/N, who hadn’t even seemed slightly disturbed by their conversation and their growing agitation. She slept on, oblivious of the world around her.

“What are we going to do, Buck?”

“I don’t know, Steve,” Bucky answered, his voice wobbling at the end. “But she’s out mate. We’re going to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”  


	26. Chapter 25

A hand waved in front of the blank pair of eyes, the owner of said hand frowned and sat back in her seat. Maria turned to Fury, who sat and watched her with a calculative expression.

“Did we break her?” She asked, shooting another nervous look to the motionless Y/N across from them. Since they told her that Taylor was aware she might possibly be alive, it was like she malfunctioned and stopped working entirely. Nothing flashed across her face to give them an idea what she was thinking, and for once in her life, Maria questioned if they had done the right thing letting her know her life was in danger once more.

“I don’t think so. I just think she needs to reboot.” Fury remarked dryly, his single eye never leaving Y/N. “Let’s just let her process things and see if she comes back to us.”

Left with no other option, Maria settled back in her seat nervously, chewing on her bottom lip as they waited for Y/N to speak. Several beats later, her eyebrow twitched, and Y/N began to blink rapidly. Sitting taller, Maria waited with baited breath as Y/N opened her mouth.

“W-w-w.” she stammered, still incapable of finding her voice. Inside, she was screaming and crying in disbelief. It was always a lingering fear, but for weeks she had been safe. Safe and protected on this little oasis of an island. What went wrong?

“Y/N?” Maria asked uncertainly. Visibly shaking her head, Y/N tried again.

“H-how?” She managed to squeak out. Now it was Maria and Fury’s turn to be at a loss. They knew why, they were the reason after all. Y/N must have seen the guilt on Maria’s face, noticed how Fury subtly glanced away. Instead of fear, she started becoming frustrated. This was her life, in their hands, and she needed an answer. Steeling her voice, she managed to repeat her question again with a firm tone. “How?”

Maria’s mouth parted to answer, but she was exactly certain how to break it to Y/N that she and Fury were the reason why Taylor knew she was alive. Maria didn’t want Y/N to be angry with them, they had a plan that was set in motion that would give Y/N her freedom, but Maria had a strong feeling that it would only agitate the other woman. Fortunately for Maria, Fury stepped in.

“It wasn’t intentional. Exactly. But things happened, and now he knows. He doesn’t know where you are, but he knows you’re alive.” Fury spoke in an offhanded manner. Y/N bristled the frustration mounting with each word of bullshit that came out of his mouth.

“What do you mean ‘exactly?’’ She asked with a narrow glare. He knew exactly why but was refusing to tell her. It was amazing to her to think she could see through his lies so easily since she spent so long ignoring the biggest lie of them all with Taylor. However, Fury was unfazed by her stare, he simply raised a brow at her tone.

“Not prevalent.” He waved her off. Y/N began to argue, but he just talked over her much to annoyance. “What we need you to know is in case the off chance he finds my little island, there are things you can do to defend yourself. So how ‘bout we focus on that instead and of the past, hm?”

Grumbling under breath, Y/N nodded. As must as she wanted to fight him on the real reason, it was more important she knew how to defend herself. It wasn’t reasonable to think that if Taylor ever found her he’d want a sweet catch up on each other’s lives. There was no doubt in her mind that if he ever did find her he’d gladly finish what it was he started.

For the next two hours, Fury and Maria went through everything Y/N needed to know about the little island and it escapes routes. Y/N was appalled to learn that hiding the little innocent bungalow was an arsenal of weapons.

“What do you mean you have .22 under the kitchen table?’” Y/N gasped, her eyes wide as saucers. Maria shrugged as if it everyone had multiple weapons strapped to tables and chairs in their house.

“It’s strapped underneath the right side facing the bar. There’s a shotgun hiding behind a panel behind the painting above your bed and a Glock under the sink.”

“But why?!” Y/N cried. What in the world did these two do that they needed to be armed to the teeth?

“Because things happen, and we always want to be prepared.” Fury stated simply. His tone told her he wasn’t going to elaborate more, but that she should just take it at face value. “Have you ever shot a gun before?”

Numbly, Y/N shook her head. Fury wasn’t surprised, he figured she never had, which is what led them to tell her about the hidden escape room in the cove on the other side of the island.

“There’s a path through the jungle from the beach. You can’t see it from the shore, but it’s to the left of a tree marked with a star. From there, follow it up the hill until you get to the edge of the cliff and take a right down the small path down to the cove. It has a little bit of a shoreline there when the tides low, if not you’ll have to swim. Along the stone wall of the cliff, you should see a stone shaped like this.” Fury drew on a blank pad on the table, drawing a diamond with a circle at the top point on the pad. “It’s on the left wall and is a shade lighter. Kind of hard to miss, so squint The wall should open beside the stone button and you can slip in. Make sure you shut it and hit the lever on the inside to the right. If you don’t he might find the stone and open the door. The room is equipped with air conditioning and has food for 30 days and clean running water. You should be safe there until Maria or I can come to get you out.”

Y/N’s head was spinning. The same question was spinning in her head, what in the world did these two do that they had all these backup plans? These weren’t simple security upgrades that everyone used, they had a whole set up plan as if they themselves had someone hunting them down. Y/N could barely wrap her head around everything as it was. Throw in these strange and over the top security measures and her whole world titled on its axis.

“I know this seems like a lot.” Maria began. “And I know this only creates more questions than answers, but you just are going to have to trust us. We want you to be safe and we’re going to do everything in our power to ensure that. If you can’t stomach the idea of defending yourself and you need to run to hide, then do it. We’ll take care of everything.”

It was meant to be reassuring, but Y/N could shake the feeling they were hiding something from her. For the first time since she met the two, she took the time to scrutinize them both. Was she really willing to let them take her life in their hands? It wasn’t like she had any other choices. So far, they have been accommodating and completely understanding of the trauma she’s gone through. There was still that little voice of doubt in the back of her head.

“Look, you don’t have to worry about him right now. He has no idea where you are, just that you’re still somehow alive. For now, just relax and try not to think too much of it. Besides, we can see him coming before he sees us.” Maria said with a  tight-lipped smile. “We just wanted to make sure you knew things might get a little dicey in the next few weeks. Right now, all I want for you to do is go back to your mermen and spend time with them. Let them know, they’ll listen to you. They’ll protect you when they can. But please, don’t let this overwhelm you. You wouldn’t be alone, not anymore.”

Y/N nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from her hands in her lap. She hadn’t realized she had begun to tremble until Maria took hold of her and helped pull her up. Wrapping an arm around Y/N’s shoulder, Maria gave her a reassuring squeeze as she led her to the door.

“Come on. I’ll walk you back.”

~~~

Bucky heard the door open and close above where he and Steve floated in the water. He perked up and made his way to the edge of the deck to pull himself up. Steve was right behind him, just as eager as Bucky to ask Y/N what happened over at the Fury’s house.

Y/N stood in the entrance, staring blankly around the room. They watched her moved listlessly through the room, her hand running underneath the kitchen table on the other side of the bar. She froze, her hand stopping short. Her empty stare morphed into horror, and she wrenched her hand away from the table. Bucky shot Steve a startled look. What happened in the short two hours she was gone?

“Y/N?” Bucky called out cautiously. She tensed at his voice and spun to face him. He tilted his head, brows furrowed in concern. She slowly made her way through the living room, nervously glancing at every painting, table, and chair as she passed.

Both mermen stuck out an arm, beckoning her into their embrace. She didn’t hesitate to drop to her knees and let the hold her, both whispering gently into her ear that she was safe. Y/N didn’t speak, her mind was still reeling and showing no signs of stopping. Yet being here in the safety of Bucky and Steve’s arms helped calm her racing thoughts.

Struggling to grasp the situation was at the forefront of her mind. It was highly possible she’d have nightmares of what was to come over the next few days. It had been weeks since she dreamt of the night Taylor tossed her over the side of the boa to leave her to die. Then it dawned on her. It was around the time she grew closer to the two mermen, the days they told her she was their mate and another half that the dreams stopped. She gasped, startling said mers.

“Hey, you okay?” Steve asked, cradling the back of her head. She leaned back with wide eyes that darted between the two. That was it. She knew why she slept so well, why she stopped fearing for her life. Whenever she was with them, everything fell into place. There was no worry, no fear, nothing. All that matter to her was being near them.

Bucky reached his free hand up to brush his thumb against her lips, watching in awe as a slow smile spread on her face. She tilted her head into his hand, pressing a kiss against the pad of his thumb.

Bucky swore his heart stopped in his chest. Her smile was contagious, and he couldn’t help but lean in the distance between them and kiss her soundly. He tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her as close as he could against his chest. She was like a drug, a sweet addicting drug he couldn’t get enough of and was more than willing to drown himself in. From her smell to her taste, he couldn’t get enough. Everything that was happening with Taylor on cemented the thought. He was in love with their third mate, a little human with her own mess up past. 

Y/N giggled and drew back to catch her breath before turning to the patiently waiting Steve. He didn’t hesitate to duck in and kiss her back with the same eagerness as Bucky. Y/N threw an arm around his neck, playing with the small hairs at the nape of his neck. Steve hummed, smiling into the kiss. His heart soared, because while the worst has yet to come, right now he had it all. Unlike Bucky, he knew from the moment he laid eyes on Y/N that he was head over heels in love with her. It took him time to come to terms, sure, but once he told her they were his mates, he willingly admitted it. There was no future without Bucky or Y/N by his side. 

To Y/N she was having her own struggles. They were mers, she was human. There was still the big part of her that doubted things would work, but right now, int heir arms, she didn’t care. She’d make it work. Because she was one hundred percent undoubtedly in love with her two mermen. Nothing, not even a crazy murderous ex-fiance would stop her from spending the rest of her life with them. Species be damned. 


	27. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for being so patient for the next part! I had a few weeks that I need to step away for a while and get my life figured out, but now I can get back into the swing of things and write again. I hope you all enjoy!

“You just didn’t hear what they said, babe! There’s no one else they could have been talking about!”

Sitting on their shared bed, a woman watched on as Taylor paced at the foot of the bed, rolling her eyes at the way he tugged at his hair. This was really getting boring to watch. He came rushing in out of breath half an hour ago, bitching about everything he overheard and how he swore up and down it was Y/N. 

“You have no proof.” She answered dryly before thumbing through the magazine in her hand. Taylor stopped short and spun around to glare at her.

“It doesn’t fucking matter! If it’s her, and if she’s still alive, she can tell them everything! I’m screwed!” He snapped. The woman let out an uninterested hum, licking her thumb to turn a pesky page. Taylor bit back a snarl and sank into the empty spot beside her. “Nicole, why are you not the least bit worried?”

Nicole closed her eyes to let out a controlled sigh. Taylor wasn’t as smart as he made himself seem, she was the one who got him the drugs and made sure it was enough to knock Y/N out long enough to drown. There was absolutely no way that bitch was still alive. Even if Y/N was, there was no way she could ever prove Nicole helped.

“Look, if it makes you shut up, I’ll go out and ask around town.” She sighed and tossed the magazine on the bed. Taylor didn’t seem like that was helping him any, but a little of the weight seemed to lift off his shoulders. “I highly doubt she’s alive. What you need to work on is your end of the deal. Wear down those detectives until you get her fucking death certificate so we can get off this god damn island.”

Taylor flinched at her harsh tone, chewing on his lower lip. Nicole could see his uncertainty, the doubt clouding his face. Tired of seeing the look of a kicked puppy on her husband’s face, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss between his eyebrows.

It worked like a charm, a slow giddy smile spreading on his face. He caught her before she could pull back with a hand behind her neck and kissed her. Nicole smiled into the kiss, carding her fingers through his hair. Taylor pulled back, grinning stupidly.

“I love you.” He murmured.

“I love you too, Taylor.” Nicole giggled as she pulled away to stand. Taylor made a face. He hated the name, was ready to get rid of it and go back to his real name. Nicole knew he despised it, taking every chance to rub it in his face. Not much longer now, he thought.

“Alright, you wait here for tonight. I think you might need to relax tonight.” Nicole spoke as she went over to the closet. “I’ll go into town and ask around.”

Taylor watched her get dressed, eyeing the long blonde wig she pulled out of a suitcase. It was her second favorite one, the first being a too noticeable red wig. He figured she most likely used it to hide her rebalance to Y/N, it was the whole reason why they chose targets that Nicole could fake being them for a short time.

That’s how things worked with them. They found a lonely sad woman with a dead-end job and no family that had to be a dead ringer for Nicole. After they found their target, Taylor would change his name and life into whatever the unsuspecting woman was looking for. He’d grow close, pretend to love her, get her to sign over everything or life insurance and when they’d finally get engaged (they always did) Taylor would take her off someplace far away with easy access to isolation.

Then the rest was easy enough. Pretend she’d get lost, Taylor would act like the concerned fiancé and eventually they’d pronounce her dead. It was simple enough to convince law enforcement he was grieving and just wished to have some kind of closure. Then he’d get the money letting him and Nicole disappear.

It was always so easy. Where the hell did things go wrong?

Nicole walked back over to the bed, dressed in a low-cut bodycon dress that made Taylor’s mouth water at the sight. The fact that she was only wearing it to use for information turned the taste in his mouth turn sour. She was none the wiser of his turmoil, instead, she bent over to kiss him on the lips.

“I’ll be back, babe.” She purred. Taylor smiled at her weakly, watching her leave to get done what she needed. At the sound of the click, he let out a shaky breath. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

* * *

Heavy cigarette and stale beer hit Nicole’s nose once the door to the bar swung open. She held back a grimace, the smell making her nose scrunch. She hated these places. However, it had to be done. According to the person at the desk, this was a popular place for the locals, a good hunting ground for some answers. It didn’t take her long to pinpoint someone, a man hunched over the bar nursing a beer.

A sly smile slid across her face and Nicole went in for the kill. Sliding into the vacant seat next to the man, she made a show of leaning her chest forward while she caught the bartender’s eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the man openly leering, despite his eyes unfocused and glossy. Nicole hid a smirk and asked for a double whiskey on the rocks. The man next to her let out a low whistle.  

“You seem like a woman after my own heart.” Nicole turned to the man, giggling at his comment.

“What do you mean?” She asked innocently, batting her long lashes at the man. Like always, it did the trick, the drunk leaning in close. Nicole had to keep from recoiling at the stench of alcohol on his breath, gritting her teeth before she smiled again.

“You didn’t pick a fruity weak little drink like all the other broads that come in here.” The drunk laughed, taking a swig from his beer glass. Nicole didn’t respond at first. She had to bite her tongue, needed to remind herself this was too important to throw away. “Haven’t seen you ‘round here before, though. What’s your name?”

Nicole ducked her chin, giggling into her glass as she took a sip. Setting the drink down, she twisted fully to face the man, arching her back subtly. His eyes shot down to her chest that was on full display, visible swallowing at the sight.  

“Lacey.” She purred, sticking her hand out. The man said his name, a name she’d never remember for the life of her and shook her hand. After that, it went off like clockwork. She’d bat her eyelashes enough and he spilled every secret detail in his entire life. It wasn’t hard to keep it up, she’d refill his drink making sure to keep his lips loose.

Turns out, the man was a carpenter who worked on designing and building homes on the surrounding islands. The man seemed to make a pretty penny, despite the fact he reeked of booze and sweat. Somehow they managed to get on the topic of his last build

“Friend of a friend needed my help,” The man slurred, hiccupping between words. “Said he was tired of sharing his house with his daughter, or whatever. She helped him after his accident, but now she needed her own place.”

“Oh really? What kind of accident?” Nicole asked curiously. Taylor did mention the man’s lost eye when he was brought in to see the clothes. Taylor also mentioned to the woman with him, so it was possible these were the same people.

“Dunno really. He used to be a detective here on the island, and something went wrong.” The man paused to take a sip of his beer, frowning when he reached the bottom of the cup. Nicole waved for another, ignoring the strange look she got from the bartender as he set a fresh one in its place. “Lost his eye and wife all in one night. Hard story really. So out of the goodness off my heart, I took the job to help. Cute little place, don’t know why I couldn’t just add to the main house though. But he loves his privacy.”

“The house isn’t near the main?” She pressed. The drunk shook his head.

“Nope. It’s on the beach over the water while the main house is in the middle hidden away by the jungle. I worked a few mornings when the sun rose, prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. Not to mention quiet.”

“Have you talked to the man anytime soon?”

“Who, Fury?” The drunk hiccupped. “Nah, although I did see them a few weeks ago comin’ out of the police station. Didn’t get the chance to ask him why before they disappeared. Wanted to know if the house was still in good standing, or if I needed to come to fix anything.”

Nicole had to fight to keep her excitement from showing. If this was the island in question, and if Y/N was still alive, she’d be there. She had to be.

“Well, it sounds like you’re really proud of your work.” Nicole hummed, running a finger along the back of his hand. “Any chance I’d be able to see it?”

The man’s brain seemed to short circuit at her touch, his eyes wide following her fingers. He cleared his throat before he began talking again.

“Nah, he lives in his own little set of islands northeast of here. He doesn’t like visitors.” Nicole made a show of pouting and whining, which caused the man to chuckle. “I know. I was surprised he even asked me to help him with his place. He doesn’t let many people know where he lives.”

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Nicole replied sadly, glancing at the clock. She let out a gasp. “Is it really two in the morning already?”

Nicole stood, feigning panic while glancing at her phone. The drunk leaned back with a frown.

“Where you goin’?” he asked. Nicole gave him an apologetic smile and pushed the chair in.

“I have to get back. I’m so sorry.” She turned to wave over her shoulder. “It was great talking to you!”

The drunk watched as she strutted out of the bar, watching her hips sway with each step. The door shut behind her, the bell chiming echoing over the soft bar music. The man sat straight, nodding to the bartender that appeared in front of him.

“Don’t know how you knew she was coming in here, but I’m glad you told me to water your drinks down. She wouldn’t stop asking for refills.” The bartender chuckled, taking the half-drunk glass away. The man at the bar snorted.

“She had a plan that was for sure.” He muttered and pulled out his phone.

The bartender wandered over to his other patrons, leaving the man to make a phone call in peace. He waited patiently for the other person to answer

“Hey. Yeah, she was here.” He paused. “Yeah, exactly like you said to say. Yep, she asked like you thought. Alright. No problem. Bye Maria.”

The man hung up a right after, letting out a sigh of uncertainty. His eyes wandered back to the door, still confused how all this was brought together and what Maria planned for the final outcome. He had no idea what the reason was for her asking this favor, nor did she elaborate more. He just went along with it. Now he was asking the question of what in the world did he just do?


	28. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY!!! I have the next part doonee!!! Please don’t be too upset with me. I promise I don’t plan on taking weeks to get the next part done, so the wait shouldn’t be too bad. It’s a little short, but I didn’t want to drag things out too long. I hope yall enjoy! Let me know what you think!!

The gentle crash and pull of the waves lulled Y/N to sleep hours later after Steve and Bucky convinced her to rest. She didn’t want to leave them, argued with them both that she was fine to stay up longer if it just meant she spent a moment longer with them. However, they both managed to persuade her into her bed, Bucky throwing out his best version of his puppy dog eyes to date with Steve’s a close second. They didn’t leave until she crawled into bed after brushing her teeth, both waiting until her eyes slipped closed and her breathing evened out.

Steve chanced to crawl the short distance across her room, his wet tails and fins sliding easily on the wooden floors. Pressing a delicate kiss to her temple, he pulled the blankets up to cover her better and his heart fluttered in his chest at the upturn of her lips. Steve tried not to focus on the way his chest constricted knowing he couldn’t crawl up in the bed alongside her and hold her tight. He pushed aside the tempting thoughts that he could do just that, but at a cost. With a lot of reluctance, he crawled back to Bucky, who had been watching his mate with a disproving look. The memory of all those weeks ago in the kitchen flashed across the front of Bucky’s mind, a jarring reminder of how different they were.

“I know,” Steve mumbled stiffly, hiding from the scrutiny from Bucky’s gaze. Fortunately, Bucky didn’t respond. If he did it might slip how he wished for the first time in his life, he didn’t want to have a tail and fins. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would long to have legs like his mate.

“Come on, let’s go find something to eat. It’s been a while.” Bucky took the chance to change the subject, nudging Steve into the water. Steve smiled and nodded, pushing off the deck and into the water below. Bucky followed behind, the two disappear in the dark water as they darted off around the island to the hunting grounds.

* * *

 

Y/N stirred hours later, a twinge of discomfort pulling her from her sleep before she froze. A cold sweat washed over her, and her heart nearly exploded in her chest. Something was wrong, gravely wrong. Keeping as still as she could, Y/N waited and listened, her eyes staring at the open patio doors. The spot where Steve and Bucky sat hours earlier was empty, instead, the dark void of the night lit by the waning moon. From the corner of her eye, she saw the clock on the nightstand dimly shine 3:28.

She had no idea what was wrong, nothing sounded out of place, but that little voice in the back of her head screamed at her to run. The hair stood up on the back of her neck, and she began to tremble. Terror struck her as realization sank in. Someone was here.

Sucking in a shaky breath, she carefully pulled the comforter her eyes locking on the door handle that led to the hall. Every instinct said to run out the patio door. She should listen to it. But she needed to know.

Instead, Y/N willed her feet to the door leading to the hall. The silence was ringing in her ear, deafening and hair-raising. How could the quiet be so loud? Trembling, Y/N opened the door with gritted teeth, hoping the sound was muffled enough by the waves and wind. With soundless steps, she crossed the short hall and to the other door. There was a soft thump on the other side, the slight noise causing her blood to run cold.

She tried to ration who it might be. Maybe it was Maria, or Fury coming to check on her. No, why would they come into her home at 3 in the morning? But they might, she desperately thought. Clenching her eyes shut, Y/N slowly opened the door and pulled it towards her.

The sight on the other side made her blood run cold, a scream crawling up her throat.

* * *

 

Bucky swam alongside Steve, his fingers gently brushing against his mate’s arm, humming a nameless tune under his breath. His heart was full, nearly bursting at the seams and it was all because of his two mates.

After their quick hunt for dinner, the two mermen took some desperately needed time with themselves, hidden below the reefs in their little cove away from wandering eyes. It was hurried and desperate, neither wanted to be apart from their third, but needing to find comfort in each other arms. Bucky loved Steve and he was more than enough, but even then, he still felt the hole where Y/N was missing. It was an underlying sadness in them both, a sadness they shut away and focus on each other. There would be time for the three of them to explore themselves.

Y/N needed to be safe, she needed to be free of her burdens. Until then, the two agreed to wait. Besides, the two felt a heavy presence in the back of their mind, dark and ominous. Bucky couldn’t shake the feeling their happy ending wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Steve thought it be best not to focus on the feelings at the moment, so Bucky didn’t. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling though. He tried to ignore it, used any chance he could to push it away. Tonight, his attempts worked, the nagging feeling was pleasantly gone.

Now the two were full, happy and sated, on their way back to the shallow waters below Y/N’s bungalow. As they swam closer, Steve reached out and pulled to a stop. Bucky frowned and turned to Steve after casting a longing glance over his shoulder to the waiting bungalow. When he looked back to Steve, he stopped short at the concern etched on Steve’s face. Bucky moved closer and cupped Steve’s face between his hands, their tails instinctively intertwined to close the distance between them.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he murmured, searching for the answer to his burning question. Steve’s eyes flickered, almost dulling under the dim moonlight.

“I don’t know, Buck.” He whispered, his voice cracking under the stress. “Somethings wrong, and I’ve been trying to avoid it. But my instincts are telling me that something wrong.”

Bucky let out a whine and pressed against Steve’s front, nuzzling his nose against Steve’s jaw. Steve tilted his chin up, sighing softly when Bucky pressed gentle kisses along Steve’s gills. His eyelids fluttered shut at the delicate touch, a quiet moan bubbling up his throat. Bucky grinned and nipped, chuckling low when Steve jolted in his arms. Steve grunted, willing himself to pull away from Bucky’s touch.

“I’m serious, punk.” He chuckled, rolling his eyes at the pout on Bucky’s face. “I just want you to know, no matter what happens, I love you.”

Bucky instantly sobered at the tone, his grip slipping to Steve’s shoulders. “I love you too Steve. Nothing’s going to happen, not to you or even Y/N. Not as long as we have each other.”

He tried to sound convincing, hoping he could calm both his and Steve’s fears with an empty promise. But even as they floated there in each other’s arms, that fear was increasing in volume.

A dull pop behind them causes the two to jump apart. They squinted in the dark waters, eyes searching for the cause. The water was clear, but the night was dark and even with their enhanced eyesight, they could hardly make out a shape in the water. There was another dull pop, heavier than the last.

As the ripples swelled and faded away, the terror hit them. Y/N was in trouble. They shot each other a panic look and shot off in the water, their hearts in their throats.

Sand had barely begun to settle, a path headed to the shoreline. Y/N’s scent reeked of fear, heavy enough to survive underwater along with a second, angry and bitter. Bucky’s eyes narrowed, and his lips curled. Steve echoed his mates rage with a hair-raising hiss, his eyes narrowing to slits.

A sound above them, coming from the open patio doors, caused their heads to snap up and circle in the water. Steve and Bucky didn’t say a word, they didn’t need to. Steve nodded and shot up to the surface. He didn’t hesitate to pull himself up to the deck, snarling in fury at the scents that were clearer in the air.

The house was dark, Y/N nowhere to be found. He could smell her fright and panic, he could almost taste it. A snarl ripped through his chest when he caught a familiar second and a foreign third, the malicious intent overpowering. He knew the second, Y/N smelt of it for the first few days they found her.   
Steve’s protective instinct reel it’s ugly head and screamed at him to find Y/N at all costs. Diving back in the water, Steve hissed low and flashed his teeth. Dread filled Bucky’s stomach but only for a split second. Rage boiled in his veins, his face twisting into a vicious snarl akin to his mate’s.

It meant only one thing. Taylor, by some means, found her. And he intended to finish what he started. Looks like their happy ending wasn’t coming anytime soon.


	29. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading!! It's getting close to the end. Enjoy!

Y/N gasped, desperately gulping in air to fill her screaming lungs. Her legs burned as she dug her heels into the sand, sprinting up the beach. She stumbled, biting her cheek to keep from crying out, gripping her side. There was no time to think. No time to panic. She had to get to the other side.

A bellow came from behind her, full of rage and vile. Y/N whimpered at the sound, flashbacks rushing through her mind, her footsteps momentarily stumbling. She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time. She had to focus on not tripping over her feet or a stray root as she tore through the jungle of the island.

It was dark, too dark to see the small path made that led her to the main house. In her panicked state, Y/N ran past it, too far to the left. Instead, she was going deeper in, ignoring the sting of the low branches and vines. Nothing registered beyond her instinct to run. Y/N was terrified of what was behind her. She couldn’t even wrap her mind around how he might have found her, a feat she thought near impossible. All that matter was surviving.

When she cracked the door open in the hall, Y/N nearly screamed. There in the middle of the living was Taylor, his eyes locked on the door. There was a flash of silver in the moonlight, and Y/N didn’t need to stay around to know what it was. She stumbled backward and bolted back to the room. The first shot rant through the room, exploding the glass pane of the hallway inches from her head. Y/N let out a scream, slammed her door shut and ran out her open patio doors. She didn’t think as she jumped into the water, flinching when the door slammed open, rattling against the wall. There was another shot. Y/N gasped when she hit the water, brows furrowed at the pain that exploded in her side when she hit the water. Ignoring it, she swam to the shore and was up on the beach, sprinting because her life depended on it.

Now, she heard the ocean ahead of her, but she also could hear the heavy footfall of Taylor gaining distance behind her. He was close, too close. With her heart hammering in her ears and her chest heaving, Y/N prayed to survive. She broke through the tree line, nearly stumbling when her feet switched to sand from soil. She had to push forward, she had to get to the safe room. She struggled to remember where Maria said it was at, what the symbol was.

Y/N found the small path that led to the cove and ran too it. The water tide was high, hitting her knees when she stepped into the clear water. She went to the left, the water rising with each frantic step. When the water hit her waist, the salt hit her side and the pain blossomed until she could no longer ignore it. Y/N cried out and clutched her side. Her fingers touched her wet side but frowned. Her side was warm.

 _No_ , she thought,  _no it can’t be._  Mortified, Y/N slowly pulled a trembling hand away, bringing it to her line of site. Even in the dark, she could see the red. The pain intensified, and her head became dizzy as the horror settled in. She didn’t have to look at the water to see the deep red swirling in the ocean.

When she heard the dark chuckle behind her, her blood drained from her face. She had run out of time.

“Seems you’ve run out of places to run.” The voice that haunted her nightmares cut through her, her blood turning to ice in her veins. There was a smirk in his voice, taunting her. He knew he had her cornered.

Y/N closed her eyes, hoping this was another nightmare. Slowly, Y/N turned her dread filling her at the sight of Taylor-or whatever his name was, standing knee deep in the water. She spotted the gun in his hand at his side. A lump formed in her throat and she had to blink back the tears that sprang to her eyes.

Taylor noticed. A slow smirk spread on his face, twisting his once handsome face to fit the devil inside him.

“Taylor-.” Y/N croaked, her voice breaking. That name caused the smirk to wipe off his face, morphing into a snarl of rage.

“Don’t fucking call me that.” He hissed, almost spitting in her direction. Y/N flinched, the tears no spilling freely down her cheeks. Trying again, Y/N attempted to appeal to the man.

“Please. Please, don’t do this.” Y/N sobbed, hoping to appeal to the man. “You don’t have to do this-.”

“Let’s get somethings straight.” Taylor cut her off with a harsh voice. “I’m not Taylor and I never fucking loved you. You were just a means to an end. So, cut the ‘think about all we had bullshit.’ It gets old hearing it.”

Y/N sucked in a shocked breath, shaking with a hand clutching her throbbing side. It was getting harder and harder to focus, she was losing blood by the second. Pressing what little pressure to the wound as she could, she curled into her side. Taylor’s eyes followed her movement, spotting the red seeping into her white shirt. A wicked smile replaced the scowl on his face, and he returns to stare at her face.

“Guess my aim isn’t as bad as she said.” He chuckled. Y/N blinked, frowning in confusion. Taylor laughed darkly. “She’s the only reason why I have shot you in the head and left you here. See she wanted to finish you off.”

As he spoke, Y/N caught movement behind him, another person stepping into the cove. Y/N shook her head, wondering if she was seeing things. The person, a woman stepped out of the dark and stood beside Taylor, her hip cocked to the side with her hand resting on the hip. Y/N wondered if she was hallucinating from blood loss. Her face stared back, a twisted sneer on the woman’s face.

“Y/N I’d like you to meet Nicole,” Taylor boasted, his chest puffing out in pride. Y/N felt the floor drop out from under her at his next set of words. “My wife.”

Nicole gave Y/N a wink, loving the anguish on Y/N’s face. She let out a giggle, looking Y/N up and down.

“Aw, I think we hurt her feelings.” Nicole mocked. Tilting her head towards Taylor, she kept her eyes locked on Y/N and pulled Taylor into a heavy kiss. Taylor melted into Nicole, his eyes fluttering shut looking in pure bliss.

Y/N watched, stunned. Surprisingly, Y/N wasn’t as upset as she thought she would be, especially considering the fact he tried to kill her once and was here to finish the job. What was jarring was how unhurried they seemed, moreover how Nicole never tore her gaze away from Y/N. It was like she was trying to mark her territory, to rub it in Y/N’s face. As if she expected Y/N to be upset. Perhaps she was waiting for Y/N to break down into tears. From the sick twisted gleam in Nicole’s eyes, she was expecting the latter.

Yet, Y/N felt nothing aside from the extreme discomfort of the situation. She didn’t feel any ounce of affection towards Taylor. What she did feel was a simmering rage in the pit of her stomach. Or maybe it was the loss of blood causing her stomach to turn. Now that she thought about it, she felt more light-headed than anything else. She struggled to keep standing and was finding it harder and harder to focus on the two smirking in front of her.

Nicole drew away from Taylor, seeing Y/N’s struggle and was savoring in her anguish. She took two steps towards Y/N, grinning wildly when Y/N stumbled back.

“Oh please.” Nicole snorted. “I’d like to see you try and run. One wrong move and my husband will put a bullet in your skull.”

Y/N felt her heart rate pick up in fear. Nicole seemed to switch on a dime, once again her grin turned into a nasty snarl.

“I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for too damn long.” Y/N recoiled at the hiss coming from Nicole. “You’ve been nothing but a pain since we spotted you in that bar. It was supposed to be easy. You were supposed to be stupid and fall head over heels in love with my husband and not put up a fight. You’re the first I’ve had to hunt down twice.”

Y/N attempted to listen, she really did. But she was finding it harder to focus as the second went on. Her skin felt clammy, and all she wanted to do was collapse. Despite her heart hammering in her chest, Y/N’s breath grew labored. She was losing pressure on the wound in her side, the blood still pouring from her side. This was bad. Nicole continued on, ignoring Y/N’s turmoil.

“Everything was planned out perfectly, right down to how we’d get rid of you. Yet, here you are, still alive.” Nicole spat. “And I’m tired of hearing you name come out of my husband’s lips. You were supposed to drown. It would have been painless for us both. But you choose the hard way.”

Nicole stopped, for the first time looking over Y/N. Then she began to cackle. Taylor shot her a concerned look, eyeing Y/N in confusion.

“I guess we don’t have to worry for long.” Nicole motion to the water around them. “You’re blood shows me enough.”

Y/N didn’t want to look down. If she did, she would have seen how the once clear water was clouded with the red. It swirled around her body, darkly thick around her side. Nicole seemed to take pleasure in Y/N’s pain, licking her lips at the sight.

Nicole took a step towards Y/N, her eyes never leaving the bleeding wound as she advanced on Y/N. Y/N could only watch in horror as the mirror image of herself pulled out a knife from her pocket. Her breath hitch in her throat at the gleam of silver, dangerously close to her side. Nicole giggled, stopping an arm’s length away from her.

Twirling the knife in between her fingers, Nicole’s eyes followed the blade, a crazed expression in her eye. In an instant, the sharp tip of the knife was pressed against Y/N’s cheek, biting into her soft flesh. Nicole shuddered as blood sprang from under the tip.

Tears stung Y/N’s eyes, trying to hold back the sobs. She terrified to move. The worst was the way Nicole was staring at her. The expression in Nicole’s eyes had morphed into pure evil, unconcealed malicious evil.

“I should carve right into this pretty little face of yours. I don’t like how we share the same face. It’s mine.” 

Y/N trembled, unable to tear her eyes away. She was terrified, yes. Strangely, dying at the hands of Nicole wasn’t the first thought that went through her mind, she saw no way to escape this fate. Instead, it was of Bucky and Steve. And how she’d never see them again. She’d never look into their similar blue eyes that reminded her of the sea they were born in. She’d never taste them on her lips again. She’d never get to see where their lives would go together. Her heart ached that they would spend the rest of their lives without her.

They just found her, their third piece. The three of them hadn’t been together for long, but she knew they were her everything, just as she was theirs. Y/N wished she could have seen them one last time. That was the worst.

Here she stood, bleeding out in the water with a knife to her face, staring into the eyes of her killers. All she wanted was one last goodbye. The truth made her numb. It would never come. Her eyes fluttered shut, accepting the ache in her heart and the fate she’d been given.

Nicole seemed less than enthused of Y/N’s lack of fear. She grits her teeth and began to press the knife into Y/N’s skin. Y/N whimpered but didn’t fight against the blade. Until she heard the familiar sound of the water parting behind her. It was so subtle she doubted Nicole or even Taylor seemed to notice. To them, it would just sound like a wave crashing into the walls around them. Y/n knew better. The sound was enough to fill her with courage.

Y/N sucked in a deep breath and willed her eyes to open. Nicole blinked, surprised to see the determination suddenly in Y/N’s eyes. It only fueled the rage in her. Tightening the grip on the blade handle, she pulled it back, ready to strike.

However, Nicole didn’t have a chance to strike. Y/N was yanked into the water, smirking as she hit the water. Nicole scrambled backward to Taylor, her eyes wide in disbelief. Taylor yanked her behind him, gun aimed at the water.

His hands shook, searching the once clear water for some sign of Y/N. He swallowed at the sight around him. The sand had been kicked up, shrouding the visibility. He spun around, Nicole pressed against his back. They couldn’t see anything. He could feel the eyes, a shiver going down his spine. Fear began to grip him. Someone or something was circling them.

The tables had turned. The hunters have now become the hunted.


	30. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long-awaited next part! I had it finished but hated the flow so I redid it all. I hope you all enjoy!!

“What the fuck was that?!” Nicole screamed, her eyes wide from terror. She was shaking against Taylor, clinging to the shirt that stuck to his back. He didn’t answer, too busy frantically searching the water that churned around them with his gun aimed at nothing in particular. Something sharp brushed against her ankle, nicking the skin there. Nicole cried out and jumped away, watching in horror as blood began to rise in the water. Taylor cursed through gritted teeth.

“Stop fucking moving!” He snarled. Nicole let out a sob. Her eyes darted to the walkway they came from and wondered if she could risk it.  There was no way in hell she was going to stand around and let whatever was hunting them win. She took a timid step away, letting out a sigh of relief when nothing countered. It wasn’t two more steps before the water exploded, a form flying out of the water with a vicious snarl.

Her blood-curdling scream echoed in the cove along with the snarl. Taylor let out a shout and swung around to face the creature but was caught off guard when the form slammed into Nicole, who was flung against Taylor. Both let out a strangled cry as they crashed into the water. Nicole’s screams were cut short when she hit the water, inhaling water as she went. Taylor lost grip of the gun, too busy trying to catch himself as he hit the water to keep a firm grip.

Something dragged them further away, sharp fingers biting into their forearms. Taylor fought back, uselessly beating at the claws now ripping into his arm. He could hear Nicole’s screams under the water, even over his own shouts in the struggle. He couldn't see a thing, the sand kicked up once again to obscure his vision. But he heard the hiss inches from his ears, a shiver going down his spine. The hiss turned into a vicious snarl. Taylor’s lungs screamed for air, and just when he started to feel light headed, the thing holding him down let go. Shoving off the shallow ground, Taylor shot up for air to the water line.  

“What the fuck-?” Taylor coughed, his chest heaving for fresh air. Nicole broke through the water shortly after, screaming and gasping for air. She coughed up the water that she inhaled, clutching at her throat.  Her face twisted into a sob, wheezing through her broken cries as the terror settled in her stomach. She was just thrown around and clawed at like a rag doll. Whatever attacked them didn’t see slightly fazed by her feeble attempts to escape.

Nicole only had a glance before she was tackled, the moon did little to fully illuminate the figure. But it was just enough to fuel her future nightmares. The face could have passed for human, but it’s features were grotesquely twisted in rage. Its jaw was unhinged, and she caught sight of a row of sharp jagged teeth like a shark’s. It snapped and hissed inches from her face, showing her that she was no longer in control. But the most terrifying was its eyes. Large and sunken in the skull, there was no white of the sclera, instead, it was replaced with pitch black surrounding the bright blue iris’ and a thin black line down the middle. They flashed with a crazed uncontrolled fury, locked on hers as it closed in. Nicole prided herself with indifference and the ability to never fear another man. However, this sight alone made her blood run cold. This was no man, this wasn’t even human. And she was its prey.

“W-we have to keep our shit together.” Taylor’s voice wavered, the break giving away his false sense of bravo. Nicole shot him a wide-eyed stare, wrapping her arms around her body.

“We have no idea what the hell that thing is!” She sobbed. Something sharp brushed against her thigh, ripping a shriek from her chest. Taylor took a step forward, a hand reached out in concern. That anger the creature around them, it lashed with something long and heavy that knocked Taylor back. Nicole screamed and stumbled backward. There was another swipe at her ankle, this time deeper and with more precision. Nicole screamed, doubling over to clutch her ankle. She heard something pop in her leg and pain exploded up her leg.

“Taylor!” She cried, searching the still waters. The water churned where he was dragged, Taylor fighting against the mystery creature on the other side of the cove. Nicole scrambled to find the discarded gun, but every step she took was met with another agonizing swipe at her skin. Taylor pushed up after the fourth swipe, gasping for air and screaming bloody murder. His chest was stained red, the creature had swiped at his chest from shoulder to hip. Even as he fought back against the creature around him, Nicole was still hit by something sharp at her other leg.

The morbid realization set in. There wasn’t just one. There was two and they were livid.

“Stop it!” She begged, sobbing and feebly clutching at her wounds. She had no idea what was happening, and she had a feeling this might just be there end. But just as the thought crossed her mind, the creatures stopped. One stopped attacking her and the stopped it’s assault on Taylor. The two gasped, their hearts hammering in the chest and the fear seizing their insides. In a matter of seconds, the water calmed, and the sand settled to show the open water empty of the strange creature. They had simply vanished.

Taylor hesitated, taking a step towards Nicole. When there was no retaliation, he crossed the distance and pulled Nicole into his arms. She broke into a sob when he wrapped her in his arms and gripped him tightly.

“Come on.” He muttered. “I don’t know how long we’re going to have before they come back.”

Nicole nodded, sobbing with each limp she took. The blood still poured from their wounds, and Nicole knew something was terribly wrong with her leg. She couldn’t even walk on it, each time she tried she was filled with blinding pain.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Taylor chanted, eyeing the blood that was pooling around them. He took another step before a rustle above them stopped them short. He froze when a silhouette of a woman stepped out of the trees and stopped at the top of the cove. “Oh god.”

The woman stopped at the bottom at the edge of the water, her eyes never leaving the two of them. There was something unsettling in the way she didn’t move, didn’t react to the site of the darkening waters around them as it filled with their blood. She shifted her weight to her other foot, and into the moonlight. Taylor felt his heart plummet in his chest. It was the same woman that brought Y/N’s clothes to the station. Nicole, however, thought she saw someone to rescue them.

“Oh, thank God!” She sobbed. Taylor tried to shush her, shaking his head rapidly as he pulled her back, but Nicole ignored him. “Please help us! We were attacked by these-these things!”

The woman was silent, her face blank as she listened. Nicole continued to beg for help, unknowingly in vain.

“Please! They did something to my leg, and it attacked my husband. We’re both loosing so much blood, and I don’t know when they’ll come back.”

Taylor tensed, his eyes going wide. Nicole must have lost more blood than he thought. She slipped up. And with the way the woman’s brow rose at the word husband, there was no hope she missed it. He held his breath, waiting for her to comment on it. Only she didn’t. She was quiet for a beat longer, before Nicole spoke up once again, this time trying to play the victim card.

“We don’t know where we are, and we’re hurting because something attacked us!” She pleaded, sobbing against Taylor trying her best to play a victim. “You have to help us!”

“No, I don’t think I do.” The woman broke her silence with a cold response. Taylor stiffened and Nicole tensed. “You see, not only are you two trespassing on my island, but you were here for something else entirely. Weren’t you?”

She raised a brow but didn’t wait for a response. Taylor and Nicole exchanged a look, worry starting to fill them again. Only this time it was different. This woman knew something, but more importantly, she seemed completely unfazed with the fact that they told her something was in the water. It was as if she almost expected it.

“I don’t think you know exactly what you got yourselves into by coming here.” She continued. “But I think you made a poor choice.”

“Wh-what?” Nicole stammered. The woman tilted her head and looked past their heads to the water. The two tensed, feeling a set of eyes glaring at their backs. Slowly, they twisted around, eyes wide with horror at the sight behind them.

Two heads, a blonde and brunette, with matching black and blue eyes glowered at them, their skin a sickly pale blue in the water. Both were partly submerged, but the clear water let them see the distorted image of their teeth, mouths pulled back into matching snarls.

Nicole and Taylor shrunk back, trembling when the two head floated closer. They jumped when the woman behind them spoke, having temporarily forgotten she was still there.

“Coming here was your first mistake. But the final nail in your metaphorical coffin was that you tried to hurt something that was theirs. And in their world, they handle things differently than in your human world.”

“H-human? World?” Nicole asked, her eyes wide with terror. The woman looked her over for a moment before a slow smile spread on her lips.

“Haven’t you figured it out yet? I thought you were smarter than that.” She taunted. “Those two are mermen. And they’re both out for your blood.”

A vicious hiss behind them caused the two to spin around, the hairs raising on their necks. Nicole shrieked. The two mermen were now arm lengths away, silent in the water, and were sitting up in the water, baring their teeth at the two murders in front of them

“I should stop them. But we’ve all agreed, this is the best ending. There’s no way we can prove you tried to kill Y/N or even any of the others. That’s right.” The woman smirked, gleefully taking in the surprise in Taylor and Nicole’s face. “We figured out all about the other innocent woman. They did nothing wrong, yet you targeted them for being vulnerable. Nothing the human world will do to you will ever make up for what you did to them. They did nothing wrong, but you still killed them. And for what? Money? Property? The thrill? Whatever the reason was, it made you a worse monster than us.”

A clammy,cold hand grabbed Nicole’s arms, claws sinking into the flesh on her arms. Screaming in agony, Nicole tried to fight back, but the blonde’s grip was firm. Taylor was ripped from Nicole’s arms by the shoulder, the brunette sinking in his pair of claws into his shoulder blades. Taylor cries of pains caused Nicole to beg them to stop, to let them go, but there was no stopping the mermen. Not now that they had the taste of their blood. Nicole turned to the woman, about to beg and plead for her to help them. Anything was better than what these two creatures had planned. But the sight in front of the caused her to stop short, the air knocked from her lungs.

Standing in the water now was the same woman. But instead of the comforting white eyes they saw before, she too had black sclerae and thin black lines down her blue iris. Her mouth was twisted into a wicked grin, her teeth now a row of sharp jagged teeth.

“Never cross a mer. They will stop at nothing to protect what’s theirs. Not only do they like to get even, but they also overachieve. I don’t pity you. You both deserve every bit of it. And I get the high honor of watching them rip you from limb from limb.”

The last thing Nicole would remember hearing was her screams being drowned out by a set of vicious snarls. She was yanked off her feet and into the water, staring up at the stars and moons above her before the water closed in. The last sight she would remember was the blonde hovering above her with his snarl and then nothing but indescribable pain.  


	31. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to go on the record and say I'm not a doctor, so I'm sure I got a few things wrong. I tried though! Enjoy!

Maria let out a sigh, blankly staring at the television that filled the room with the nightly news. She wasn’t paying any attention, she couldn’t not with what was sitting in the other room. But right now, she couldn’t focus on that, she had done all she could before Fury stepped in. There’s only so much that could be helped with what little tools they had. They were ready for someone to come and take back what wasn’t theirs, not for someone to come in and try attempt murder.

The doorbell made her head snap towards the front door, and she was already across the hall to open it. The familiar faces on the other side filled her with relief, and a tiny bit of sentimentality. Maria smiled and stepped aside.

“Dr. Banner, Stark. It’s good to see you.” She greeted, waving them inside.

The two men said hello and stepped in with Tony in the lead. He looked over his glasses and took in the modest living room with a careful eye. He let out a hum and spun around at heel to face the front door, a hand smoothing out the front of his tailored suit. Bruce shuffled in behind him with a large square metal case in one hand, sheepishly smiling back at Maria after shutting the door behind him.

“I wish it was under better circumstances,” Bruce said quietly, cutting straight to the point. “Where is she?

“In the green house.” She motioned for them to follow and made her way through the house. “I’m glad you two could make it so quickly. Fury did his best, but the bullets lodged in her side and he’s not able to perform the surgery with the limited equipment we have here. So, I have some of the seaweed covering her side to keep the bleeding at bay, but our magic can only help so much.”

Bruce nodded, carefully listening to her speak. “How long has it been since she had been shot?”

“A few hours. It was some time around four am when she was brought through the caves here by Natasha.”

“Oh, how is that firecracker?” Tony bounced in. Bruce bit his lip to stop from smiling, but Maria shot him a look.

“She’s fine, so’s Clint. They’re not the problem. We have two new additions to the waters-.”

“Which explains the shot victim currently bleeding out in your secret water room.” Tony hummed, reaching forwards to grab the corner of a passing picture. Maria rose a brow and the corners of her lips curling down.

“Yes, but no. She’s not one of the mers, but she has her own issues I wouldn’t get into right now. What I need is for Bruce to get the bullet out and give her an IV drip.” She responded simply. Bruce stepped in before she could waste any more time.

“Of course, if she’s lost as much blood as I think she might have, she needs it. Just point me in the right direction.”

Maria gave him a kind smile and stepped in front of a set of double doors. Resting her hands on the handles, she stopped short.

“Y/N doesn’t know about… the whole story. She will, but not until after she’s had time to recover. There’s already a lot on her plate as it is.” She sent Tony a hard glare, who grinned lazily at her as if he hadn’t the slightest clue why she was so short with him before she opened the set of doors.

Instantly, the thick humidity and heavy scent of salt hit their faces, a stark contrast to the cool house. The doors opened up to a large round room with a tall dome ceiling, the sunlight shining through. Trees and flowers from the around island filled the area, the tree’s canopy brushing against the high ceilings. There was a short path with stone steps that led down to a pond filled with sparkling blue waters surrounded by rocks. Sitting along the edge in a plush lounge chair was an unconscious woman, whose hand dangled over the armrest. Two men sat on the edge of the water, leaning on the chair and staring anxiously up at the woman’s face. Neither tore their gaze away from her, not even as the doors open and three new people stepped in the room.

Bruce didn’t need an introduction. He gently pushed passed Maria and Tony to rush to the injured woman’s side. Tony watched on, his mind turning. Pieces were starting to fall into place, the puzzle was making more sense by the second. When Maria called, she didn’t say much. Just that she needed Bruce’s help with an injury and to bring everything for a bullet wound. Tony, being the only other person in the lab, decided to tag along. Besides, it had been a while since he spoke with his client. It was time to catch up.

“So,” he drawled, tucking his hands in his front pockets. Maria sighed and rested her hand on a cocked hip, a brow raised as she waited. “How’s living in solitude?”

“Tony-.” She heaved a sigh, but Tony was swift to cut her off.

“No, I know. It gets lonely sometimes, but you have to admit, things get pretty boring when you just live with the master of testiness.”

“He’s not always testy... Most of the time.” Maria paused, looking over to see Bruce delicately pull off the glowing seaweed wrap off the woman’s side. “Just when you’re here. Although, I will admit. This has been a nice change of pace. I could do without the attempted murder.”

Tony chuckled and started down the steps. Maria followed and fell in step with his pace. Leaving the doctor to worry over the patient, Tony walked the perimeter, along a small path that circled the small pond. He eyed the tails of the two mermen, who still hadn’t paid him any mind but were intently watching everything Bruce was doing to the woman.

“She’s one of their mates, isn’t she?” He asked, pointing between the three. Maria grinned.

“Both actually.” That shot Tony’s brows to his hairlines, he turned sharply to face Maria. “Yeah, surprised me too. But she’s theirs. They’ve also already indicted their Right. And I was allowed to see it happen.”

Tony let out a low whistle and stopped on the other side of the small pond.

“Not only do they trust you, but they mean business too, huh?”

“Yep. It was a long time coming. They held nothing back.” Maria boasted, pride swelling in her chest. To humans, their ways would have been considered cruel and gruesome. Not to her. To her, it was a glorious sight, one she was honored with seeing. It wasn’t often an outsider to a mated couple was allowed in the same waters during the time of a sacred Right. As their mate, they were allowed the right to stake their claim, to protect what was theirs and they had a right to pick and choose who was present. While not the final step ritual step to mating, it was a step they could use if another tried to come in and claim their mate. Mers thought it as tradition, but Maria knew humans would think it was barbaric.

“And so, it’s safe to assume they know about you?” Tony asked, though he already knew the answer. Maria just nodded and watched as Bruce carefully extracted the bullet from her side. Both Steve and Bucky were now in the water, pacing back in forth in agitation. Tony and her, must have missed Bruce telling them to back off, they were hovering a little too closely.

“Yes, they put the two and two together once I told them.” Maria chuckled.

_They had both been startled away to the sound of the distance gunfire the night before. They both had taken off down the path to the bungalow, missing Y/N flee completely with her ex right behind her. When they came up to the water, Maria spotted the drops of blood in the sand and twin sets of angry snarls coming from across the water._

_“Taylor’s here!” She called out to the two hissing mers. They nodded, both gritting their sharp teeth in rage. “You both need to get to the other side of the island, there’s a cove there where she should be heading.”_

_“She’s been hurt.” Bucky rasped, his voice harsh due to the change of his appearance. Already his tan skin was turning sickly blue. Maria nodded and gestured to Fury._

_“Yes, and from the looks of it, she’s been shot. What you two need to do is get her out of there before you deal with Taylor. Find Natasha, get her to bring Y/N to the cave-.”_

_“The cave?” Steve interjected, his eyes wide with surprise._

_“Yes, the cave. Natasha knows where to go. She’ll get her safe and you two deal with Taylor.” Maria said quickly, time was of the essence._

_“We’ll make them pay.” Bucky hissed, clenching his fists in the water. “I’m going to rip his limps for his body and cut his throat-.”_

_“Yeah, yeah you’re going to indict your Right as her mate.” Maria cut him off._

_Both mers paused, suspiciously narrowing their dark eyes at her. Steve flashed Bucky a look._

_“How do you know that?” He asked carefully._

_“Because I’m a mer too.” Maria snapped. Bucky and Steve’s mouth fell open. “Now I don’t have time to explain, you need to go! Save your mate!”_

_“I’ll be at the house when Natasha brings her in.” Fury finally spoke up after having been silent during the entire conversation. He didn’t wait for an answer, already turning around and running back to the main house. Maria frantically waved back to the two mers, who didn’t need any more guidance._

_“Now go!”_

Maria blinked rapidly, pulling herself back to the present. Bruce was wrapping Y/N’s stomach, making sure the gauze was tight enough to hold. Tony motioned for Maria to follow him back around.

“The change is getting easier,” Maria said quietly, staring at her feet. Tony paused, a relieved grin spreading across his face.

“Yeah? That’s good! It means the changes to the serum is working.” Pride filled his voice, and Maria knew this helped push away those voices of doubt he had. “How’s Sam? Or Wanda and Pietro?”

“They’re both doing well,” Maria replied with a fond smile. “Sam’s found himself working at the V.A. helping with the sailors from the Navy. Apparently, they have a lot in common. And the twins are doing really well actually. Wanda’s met a cook that goes by Vision. Surprised you didn’t hear about that.”

“Well, I’ve been doing my job and keeping you four safe,” Tony chuckled, stopping a foot away from where Bruce was gently coaxing Y/N awake. “Although, I might just be adding a few more on the list.”

By now the two mers in the water tensed and turned to stare at Tony. Bucky’s lips curled back, a snarl right at on the tip of his tongue. Steve had moved closer to Y/N, his eyes darting between him and a groggy Y/N. Tony smirked and tilted his head towards the two, his type of greeting. Tony knew that right now he was already on thin ice being close to an injured mate. Bruce got by simply because he was able to help heal their mate. But Tony, he was a threat. A threat that seemed to find it amusing. That only set Bucky’s teeth further on edge.

“Y/N, My names’ Dr. Bruce Banner,” Bruce spoke smoothly, placing one hand on Y/N’s shoulder. Y/N blinked, her eyes heavy and unfocused. Her breath began to pick up, early signs of her starting to panic. Bruce tried to calm her down, but nothing seemed to help. It wasn’t until Bucky and Steve appeared by her side to take her hand that she began to feel safe.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Steve whispered gently. “We’re here.”

Bucky leaned forward to nuzzle against her neck, taking in a deep breath against her skin. Y/N let out a shuddering breath, her body sagging in the fluffy cushions. Drawing back, Bucky nodded to Bruce before sitting beside Steve.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood. And I need to get an IV drip in you so you’ll feel better. I would have done it earlier, but these two would let me get near you with a needle. I’m letting you know so that hopefully they don’t panic.” Bruce started again. It took her a moment to understand the new man hovering over her, her brain still sluggish and now even more so after her brief panic attack. But with one look at her two mermen beside her, she was able to grasp at some sanity to nod.

Bruce nodded and turned back to his case, flipping open one of the compartments to pull out a bag of clear liquid. He didn’t waste any more time and had the needle hooked up to her and IV bag in a matter of seconds. Setting the case right beside the chair, he pulled out a thin metal pole from the inside and attached the bag to the collapsible drip stand.

“You should start feeling better now. Normally you’d want this in your body as soon as possible. Clearly, that couldn’t happen. But the seaweed that was wrapped around you was a special kind of mers magic to stop blood flow long enough for it to heal. Only, you’re not a mer so all it did was keep it in a suspended state.” He answered the question he could see was scrolling through her head. “It was a smart move too. If they hadn’t used their remedy, you probably would have bled out.”

Y/N balked, and from the look in Steve’s and Bucky’s eyes, they were already morbidly aware of that fact. She swallowed thickly, bile rising in her throat.

“So, what you’re saying is, I should, in theory, be dead?”

Bruce nodded, bending over to pull out a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope from the case. Y/N eyed the metal case skeptically.

“What is that, a Marry Poppins bag?”

“No,” Bruce giggled, gently wrapping the cuff around her opposite arm, the same arm the two mers were protective gripping. “I need you to let go for a few minutes. I need to take her blood pressure and then you can hold her hand again.”

Bucky bared his teeth at the doctor, but reluctantly let go. Steve seemed to need more convincing, his grip tightening on her hand. Bruce seemed to have the patience of a saint, his expression never wavering. Y/N gently placed her hand on top of Steve’s.

“It’s okay, it’s not going to hurt me. He just has to make sure I’m okay.” Y/N reassured him. Steve seemed unimpressed and more than prepared to start a fight with her. He didn’t want to let her hand go, not after everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. However, all it took was one glance into Y/N’s eyes to know she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Reluctantly, he let her hand go to settle his hand on her leg.

Bruce sent him a grateful smile and began his process, mumbling quietly to himself. Steve and Bucky watched him like hawks, eyeing the strange contraption that expanded on her arm. She didn’t seem to mind the cuff, which helped them relax.

Tony and Maria stood by and watched silently. Tony couldn’t tear his eyes away from the two mermen, observing in the way they practically clung to the woman in the chair. A fond smile spread on his face, and any question on their stance with this human was answered just by how they acted.

Mers were incredibly territorial. They protected what was theirs and typically didn’t let anyone too close to their mate. One way to soothe their primal instincts was to constantly touch and cuddle their other half, to keep them close. It was clear that Bucky and Steve were mates, they unconsciously gravitated towards the other. Bucky was always touching Steve in some way, even when they paced early, he was an arm’s length away. Currently, his fins were laid over top Steve’s in the water while Steve’s free hand rested on Bucky’s hip.  And it was clear Y/N was theirs as well from how they clung to her leg.

Once Bruce was done with the blood pressure check, he freed Y/N’s arm. There wasn’t a second of delay on her part, she was already reaching out to brush back a lock of Bucky’s dried hair behind his ear. He let out a soft purr in the back of his throat, turning his cheek into her palm to press a kiss against her skin. Steve nuzzled his nose against Bucky’s neck, a lazy grin spreading on his face at the feel of Y/N’s hand running through his hair. Yep, Tony thought, it was pretty obvious they were all each other’s mates.

Clearing his throat, Tony took a step forward. Two head snapped to face Tony with teeth bared. Tony rolled his eyes and waved them off, which only seemed to anger them further. Maria snorted and shook her head.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s more harmless than anything else.” Maria said to Bucky and Steve. They considered for a moment and seemed to relax. It still didn’t mean their guard was down as Tony stepped closer with an extended hand.

“I wish I could have met you on better terms, but it’s nice to see your color getting back to you. Name’s Tony Stark.” He grinned. Y/N giggled and shook his hand after introducing herself back. He looked over to Bucky and Steve with a brow raised expectantly.

“This is Bucky and Steve. They’re a little protective after everything and lost some of their manners along the way.” Y/N said, pointing between the two. They jerked their chins in a form of stiff hello, a faint redness coloring their cheeks. Tony seemed completely unfazed by their standoffish behavior. As a matter of fact, from his demeanor, he appeared used to this. Y/N looked between Tony and Bruce, surprised how unfazed they seemed by Steve and Bucky in general. It was almost like they had seen mers before.

“Yeah, well they have a reason to.” Tony began, tucking his hands back in his front pockets. “After all, it’s not every day not one but two mermen find their mate in a human woman.”

Y/N blinked, her mouth falling open. Well, that question was certainly answered. Before she could ask him what he knew, the door to the main house opened. Fury walked in, his face serious. Tony tore his attention away from Y/N and beamed as if greeting an old friend.

“Well, if it isn’t the captain of this ship!” Fury snorted and stepped down the stairs, meeting Tony half way with a firm handshake. “I’ve been meaning to stop by earlier. We have a few things to discuss with our little land dweller over here.”

Maria scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest. Bruce was fiddling with something in the metal case, ducking his head to hide a grin while the other three were left completely perplexed.

“Yes, we do.” Fury agreed, nodding to Bruce over Tony shoulder. “Right now, we have something else to we need to take care of.”

The air seemed to shift in the room, Maria, Tony, and Bruce standing taller. Fury’s mouth formed a tight line and he jerked his chin over to the door. Tony cleared his throat and nodded.

“Yes, well. I think we should let these two lovebirds ensure our patient is right as rain.” He spun around Y/N, pointing a finger at her. “Stay out of the water. Keep the IV in until Bruce says. And watch your side, don’t rip the stitches.”

“Uh… Okay?” Y/N stammered, completely uncertain how to respond. This man seemed to flip on a dime. Bruce frowned.

“Hey… Those are my lines.” He muttered dejectedly. Tony rolled his eyes, throwing an arm over Bruce’s shoulder to lead him up the set of stairs. Fury followed right behind leaving Maria with Y/N and the other two. She sighed and cast a smile over her shoulder.

“Just relax. Bruce will be back later to check how you're doing. Tony’s right though. No moving.” Maria stated firmly. Y/N nodded which was enough for Maria to leave them be. The door shut behind her, letting the silence fill the room.

Y/N heaved a sigh, instantly regretting that decision. The room began to spin, and she felt the blood rush from her face. Groaning, Y/N fell back into the cushions clenching her eyes shut. Two sets of hands were on her in an instant.

“Y/N, you okay?” Steve fussed, nearly pushing Bucky out of the way. Bucky wasn’t even fazed by Steve nearly climbing on top of him. Instead, he tugged the chair closer, the feet of the chair now in the water so they both had better access to Y/N. She nodded and waved her free hand.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just really dizzy.” She replied. Bucky hummed and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

“You lost a lot of blood. You’ll probably feel it for the next few days.” He whispered against her skin. Y/N sighed again, letting her head fall to the side to rest on Bucky’s head. A grin broke across his face. “We’re just so happy your safe and that everything’s behind us.”

Y/N’s eyes fluttered shut, a content smile spreading across her lips. She agreed, things were behind her. Steve settled at her legs, laying head across her thigh with a matching smile. A content silence filled the room, warmth growing in her chest.

Things were still running slowly for Y/N. The trauma of what happened the night before was still fresh but pushed aside from the shock. Now that she was safe and bandaged up, her thoughts were slowly catching up with everything. Realization dawned on her, her eye’s flying open wide.

“Wait.” She said slowly. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. What do you mean, ‘behind us’?”

Bucky and Steve tensed under her accusatory tone. Both swapped a look with each other, seeming to come to the same conclusion. Y/N brows pulled together, and her mouth fell open. Slowly, pieces started to fall into place. Moreover, she wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or petrified. Just what happened after she was dragged into the water?


	32. Chapter 31

“So, what’s so secret we couldn’t speak in front of the new couple?” Tony flopped down on the couch in Fury’s living room, unbuttoning his jacket. Bruce settled in cushions on the opposite end, wringing his hands in front of him. Maria leaned against the door frame, with arms crossed.

“Things took a bit of a turn last night.” Fury didn’t make a move to sit, instead, choose to stand at one end of the coffee table with his hands in his pocket. “Turns out, the two morons who tried to kill Y/N last night were smarter than we gave them credit for.”

“Yeah, about that. What the hell happened last night?” Tony interjected. “More importantly why did that sweet innocent woman get shot?”

Maria sighed and pushed off the doorframe. “As I said earlier she has a bit of history.”

Sparing no detail, Maria brought Tony and Bruce up to speed with everything they knew about Y/N and her past. Fury even pulled out the photos and newspaper clippings to show them off. They told them the original plan to lure the two cons to the island with Y/N already in the safe house. It wasn’t the plan for them to somehow find a boat, let alone a gun and make their way to island before they had time to prepare. Maria was relieved she at least mentioned the safe house to Y/N, on the off chance they weren’t quick enough, and that Y/N was smart enough to start running without putting up a fight.

“Turns out, it was a long-running scheme these two had to hunt down and kill lonely single women for what we’re assuming was money. But, because of how thorough they were, there’d be little to no way of pinning any of the murders on them.”

Tony’s eyes widen in surprise and Bruce seemed at a loss for words. This was deep, deeper than they thought at first. From the overwhelming circumstantial evidence, there was no doubt in either of their minds that the man known as Taylor and the woman Nicole had done everything Maria said and with no remorse. Bruce buried his head in his hands, imagining the sickening last moments of each victims life, and Tony sank deeper into the couch.

“But they’re no longer a threat, right?” Tony questioned, his eyes never leaving a spot on the wall across from him. He blinked rapidly, sighing loudly and turned to Maria. Maria closed her eyes and nodded her expression dropping.

“Fortunately, yes. But that’s also our problem.” Fury said. Tony raised a brow, waiting for him to continue. “You see, because of his con, Taylor had been working closely with law enforcement. As in, there every day asking questions. So, the police know at least his face and will notice when he goes missing. They also might have been tipped off his plans and were trying to build a case against him.”

“Who are the ones on the case?” Bruce asked.

“Sharon and Phil.”

“No kidding?” Tony sounded surprised. “They both finally became detectives?”

“Yup, Sharon’s aiming to be a sergeant here soon too.” A corner of Fury’s lips turned up in half grin, but that was smothered as promptly as it appeared.

“But because she was trained by you-.” Tony began, trailing off towards the end of his sentence.

“She knows almost all the tricks in the book.” Fury finished with a heavy sigh. “It’s only a matter of time before she starts asking questions, and I’m not going to ask her to lie for me any more than she already has. I’m not putting her in that position again, she’s done enough. They both have.”

“And I’m assuming we won’t find the bodies?” Bruce asked carefully. Maria shook her head.

“Not in one piece.” Bruce paled at the insinuation, still finding it unnerving how the creatures of the sea handled their affairs. Maria kept him up to speed on the mers ways, yet it still never failed to make his stomach turn at the unpleasant details.

Tony hummed, rubbing his chin as he formed a plan. It was loose but it might get them a little leeway, or at least keep the police from pointing fingers on the residents of the island. It’s not like they could tell them it was the mers that frequented the area that exacted revenge in the only way their people knew. That might get them all locked up in a psych ward instead of a jail cell if they admitted that. Shrugging, Tony figured his plan was their best bet.

“Alright. How about this.”

* * *

"What did you mean by ‘things are behind us’?” Y/N asked carefully, her tone guarded. Bucky and Steve flinched, both uncertain on how to break the news to her. Y/N had made it clear in the past she didn’t want blood on their hands over her. It wasn’t like they went against her orders specifically, they just did what was their natural born right. “Answer me!”

Steve sighed, his eyes sliding closed. Bucky let out a faint whine and threw Steve a panicked grimace. This was the first time they ever heard Y/N use that tone around them. Her frustration was mounting by the second.

“We’ll tell you everything, but you have to keep an open mind. Hear us out, and then you can decide how you feel about it.” Steve began, gently squeezing her thigh. Y/N’s mouth drew into a tight line, but she agreed with a nod. “We’ve not kept it a secret from you that you’re our mate. Technically, we didn’t tell you everything.”

“When we said you were out mate, we left out a few details.” Bucky sprang in, anxious for Y/N to understand. What they did was right, at least by their standards. “To us, there can be no one else. There are no second chances, there are no other ‘fish in the sea’. You’re it. Steve’s it. We won’t have anyone else.”

Y/N felt her heart pounding in her chest, and the room started to spin. She knew things were serious when they claimed her as her mate, but she had no clue it was that serious.

“It’s why we as a species are so protective of our other half, or in this case thirds. Our way of life is dangerous, the ocean is just as unforgiving for us as it is for humans. There’s never been a moment when we’re not on guard and ready to fight.” Bucky spoke with a hint of remorse. It was an exhausting life as a mer, constantly having to look over your shoulder day in and day out. “If anything were to happen to you, we would always feel that void. It’s why we protect, why we fight.”

“Our ways are different than yours. When we meet out mate, it usually is only a few weeks before we complete the courting ritual. With you, it’s been a little slower,” Steve said. Y/N frowned, an ache starting to form in her chest. “Don’t worry about it too much. It doesn’t hurt us if we don’t finish the ritual after a certain time and we’re not in any rush. At least, not when it comes with you.

When Bucky and I realized we were mates, we had already been friends since childhood. We were always close from the beginning and it wasn’t until we both reached our sexual maturity that it dawned on us why. Because of our friendship beforehand, we didn’t really need to go through with the complete courting ritual. We already knew each other better than any other newly mated couple, and it wasn’t hard to explore our attraction to another.”

Y/N listened intently, curious as to where he was going with this. It seemed like a long drawn out excuse, but from the expression in both their eyes, she knew this was important. Bucky, who was quietly listening as Steve spoke, was rubbing his thumb along her arm in small circles. His brow was creased, and he kept dragging his lip in between his teeth, worrying the skin till it was a dark red. Y/N reached over, careful of the iv still in her arm and gently tugged his lower lip free of his with her thumb. The two mers froze.

“Natasha told me you feel pain when you’re separated from your mates.” Y/N spoke softly, distantly remembering the conversation she and the red-headed mermaid had. It seemed like so long ago she sat with her on the deck. “I knew that it would be serious if you lost your mate, it always is to lose a loved one, I just didn’t know that it was that extreme.”

“If we were to lose you, we’d lose a part of ourselves.” Bucky nodded, brushing his lips along her fingertips. His tone expressed how heavy this was, how if Taylor had succeeded in killing her, the two mermen would be lost without her. “Before we knew something was missing, we just didn’t know what. Now that we know it was you, now that we’ve had time to get to know what kind of person you are, if you were to leave, it would kill us.”

“It why we fight. Why we protect.” Steve said, watching her thumb skim along Bucky’s lip. “So much can go wrong and depending on how open we are when it comes to finding our mate, we can be challenged.”

“Challenged?” Y/N asked with a raised brow. Steve nodded and swallowed.

“Yes. Most of the time it’s the father of the female or even a brother wanting to ensure the suitor is strong enough for their family.” Steve paused, his face scrunching up as he thought over his words carefully. “Sometimes though, it can be someone else who only wants to hurt one or both of the mated pair.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because of our nature, we can gain more enemies than allies. And if any of those enemies catch wind we’ve found our mate, they’ll do anything to rip of us apart. Including trying to kill out mate.” Steve closed his eyes with brows furrowed. “It can happen to anyone, and at any time. But more often than not, they usually will try before the pair becomes a mated couple.”

“It hurts more that way too,” Bucky growled. “Sometimes out enemies challenge us just for an excuse to hurt us.”

“When I say we fight, I don’t mean we kill without cause. Which is why they’ll challenge,” Steve cut back in. “There are other species that will do so without any remorse but for the mer race, we only do so when our lives or our family is in danger. It’s the only time we ever really aim to kill. Any other time, it would just draw attention to our world, and we don’t want most human’s finding out about us. So we have this tradition set aside for this. There’s another name for it in our language, but the human translation would roughly mean it’s our ‘Ancestral Right’. It only qualifies for certain things. Some mers abuse it to use it as an excuse to kill, but most use it the right way. Such as defeating someone that’s attacking our mate. It’s a dishonor to challenge for the hand of someone else’s mate. They were made for only one other-.”

“Or two.” Bucky quipped. Steve chuckled and nodded, leaning down to press a kiss to Bucky’s forehead.

“Right. Or they’re made for two. To try and take the other half away, it’s a cardinal sin.” Steve said gravely. “Of course, there are times when the challenger doesn’t even want the mate’s hand or to kill us. Sometimes, they’ll corner the mate we plan to take and demand the challenge just to kill them as a way to rip away that happiness. All because of a grudge.”

“You know, you’re talking in a lot of circles.” Y/N said flatly, her frustration with his stalling mounting. Her head had started to spin, and while it made sense, all she wanted to know was what happened after they rescued her, not an entire history lesson. Steve let out a deep breath. “What’s the point, Steve?”

“The point is, Taylor-or whatever his name was, and that woman challenged us when they tried to kill you. They brought out our instincts, our deadlier half. They aimed to take your life, so we took theirs.”

Silence filled the room, both Bucky and Steve waiting with bated breath for her reaction. Y/N stared blankly at her hands, the words rolling over in her mind. They really did it. She presumed it was a possibility, and part of her wasn’t really surprised that it had come to this. Yet they still took someone’s life.

Sensibly, she knew there was nothing that could really be done about all the other missing women. There was a high chance that finding any evidence was near impossible at this point. She didn’t even know there was another woman a part of the killings until, well until last night. It never dawned on her. It made sense though, how it appeared she was in two places at once and why his victims all looked the same. They were hunting down women like Y/N that could easily pass as the woman Taylor was married to. All for money.

She should be happy. It was a good thing. The worst that might happen to them if convicted would be life behind bars. They would have gotten off easy for what they did. Anything the justice system would do would have paled in comparison to what Taylor and Nicole had done. Did that mean she wanted them dead? That wasn’t something she certain of.

Steve restlessly began to rub his thumb on her leg, his heart hammering in his chest. Bucky was no better. He watched and waited, hoping for a sign she wasn’t going to shut down. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t so much of flinched in several minutes. Their hearts grew heavier as each second ticked by and she did nothing. They both shared the same look. Taylor might not have been the reason they lost her. Their instincts could have very well done just that.

Y/N’s head slowly lowered, her chin tucking into her chest. Steve gasped when her shoulders began to tremble. Bucky didn’t waste time in leaning up and burring his nose into her neck. He whispered soft apologies in her ear, begging her to not leave them. Her sobs began to grow, loud and heart wrenching. Bucky bit back his own, trying to hold back from wrapping her up in his arms. She was hurt, he had to remember. And now they hurt her too. At least, that’s what he assumed.

Ignoring the searing pain that shot up her side, Y/N twisted to throw her arms around his neck, gripping tightly. Bucky let out a startled gasp, instantly holding her tight. Steve blinked, and when Y/N began laughing he grew concerned.

“Y/N?” He asked slowly. Y/N laughed through her tears, opening up one arm before she turned her face to him. Steve’s eyes grew at the sight of relief and shameless glee on her face. It hit him. The tears weren’t of sadness, but of joy. A timid smile grew on his face, and he moved in to press against Bucky. Y/N wrapped her arm around his shoulders and began peppering kiss on his face.

Steve couldn’t stop the childlike giggles that erupted in his chest. It caused her to laugh more, Bucky following right behind. Not leaving him out, Y/N turned to give Bucky the same treatment. By the time she was done, both mers had matching smiles and the weight lifted off their shoulder. Y/N sat back, wincing from the pain in her side and sniffed.

“Sorry I snotted all over you.” She giggled, rubbing the tears from her cheek. Bucky shook his head, the smile impossibly wide on his face.

“It’s okay.” He reassured her while slipping his hand back in hers. Y/N smiled and stared at their intertwined fingers, the smile stretching the longer she stared. He cocked his head to the side, powerless to tear his gaze away. “Do you want to talk about it?”

There was a pause before Y/N finally shrugged. She took in a deep breath, holding it for a beat before letting it out to clear her mind. The two waited patiently, their previous worries long gone. Now it was just a matter of clearing the air.

“I guess… I guess it’s still a shock to me.” Y/N finally said. Bucky and Steve leaned further in, but otherwise, let her continue uninterrupted. She stared at her hands, her voice sounding lighter than it had in weeks. “I mean. He’s gone, he’s really gone. I thought I would be angry that you… well, you had your reasons. I’m not completely upset about it. Nothing we could have done would have been enough. Even if we turned him in, the worst he’d get would be life in prison. And that just doesn’t seem like enough. Not for those other women. You don’t work the same way we humans do, and I have to come to accept that. The only thing I can ask of you for future attempts on my life is, unless it’s another aquatic species, please don’t kill them.”

Both let out a dry chuckle, nodding but shooting each other same look. That might not happen. Not when it came to their mate.

“It’s just, it’s all still a lot to take in.” Y/N uttered, the smile and tears returning. “It’s such a relief not having to look over my shoulder or worry when he’d find me to finish the job.”

Y/N bit her lip, her brows furrowing. Her head snapped up, startling them with the determination on her face.

“I love you. Both of you.”

Her voice was firm, unwavering and it knocked the breath from Steve’s and Bucky’s lungs. Completely caught off guard, neither could speak or say a word after such a huge confession. Y/N continued without a care in the world.

“I know it’s still new and I know our situation was less than desirable, but these past few weeks with you both have been above and beyond the best weeks of my life. And that’s with the man who tried to murder me still on the loose.” She rambled, her voice growing higher and faster as she went on. “The point is, even without you both being my mate, I would have fallen for the both of you. You’re both so sweet and loving and so incredibly thoughtful. And I can’t-.”

Bucky lurched forward, cradling her face between his hands to cut her off short with his lips. He poured everything into the kiss, moving his mouth against hers. He nipped at her lower lip, smirking at the soft moan that passed her lips. He had just begun to slip her tongue in his mouth when he was yanked away by Steve, who need this just as much as Bucky.

Bucky growled at his mate, nipping at Steve’s chin as he leaned over his shoulder. Steve ignored him and tugged Y/N to his face, slanting his lips over hers in a sloppy kiss. She giggled at the intensity, melting into his demanding kiss. Y/N shifted forward, unintentionally twisting her side and pulling the still fresh stitches. The pain exploded in her stomach causing her to rip her head away and cry out in agony.

Steve and Bucky’s eyes grew wide in horror. They fumbled to help her sit back, both spewing out apologies with hands hovering around her, not wanting to hurt her further. Y/N waved them off, gritting her teeth despite her smile as she laid back.

“You’re fine. I got overeager.” She laughed through the pain, breathing deeply through her nose. “Tony was right to treat me like I’m five. I have no self-control.”

Bucky and Steve glanced at each, still worried about her side, but elated nonetheless. Y/N just made them both the happiest mers in the ocean and nothing could change their excitement now. She was the first to say it, now it was their turn. Bucky scooted closer to the head of the chair, hearts in his eyes and happy as can be.

“I know that while our time together has had its ups and downs, I know without a doubt in my mind that I love you too,” Bucky said, his voice unwavering. “I think I fell in love with you the minute I saw you. I don’t mean to speak for Steve, but I know he loves you just as much as I do. We’d do anything to protect you, we already have. And even though we’re completely two different species, that doesn’t matter to us.”

“We love you. I love you,” Steve spoke up, a smile tugging at his lips. “No matter what happens now, we will always be here for you. We’re not going anywhere without you.”

Y/N blinked back tears, her cheeks hurting and her heart full. She had a feeling they cared for her, a blind person could see it with the way they were around her. They doted on her, made her feel special. Not to mention the way they kissed her, that should have been proof enough. But to hear it come from their mouth that they loved her, it sent off another fresh wave of relief through her. With Taylor gone, she didn’t have to hide her feelings anymore. There was no holding back.

“I think…” she began slowly, hesitantly. Y/N began to pick at fingernails, her face scrunching up as she picked her next few words carefully. The two mers tilted their head, their smiles never faltering, and she couldn’t get over how adorably in sync they were with each other. Yep, she thought, this was what she wanted to do. “I know I want us to finish the courting ritual.”


	33. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I didn't forget about this story!! I just got a little sidetracked with life and had to step away for a while from this story. But I'm back now and I hope you all enjoy this next part! ❤

“Bucky. I’m fine.” Y/N exhaled softly, closing her eyes to keep herself calm. There was a whine beside her, and a cool hand took hold of hers.

“I just want to make sure you’re ready to get in the water,” Bucky bit back a grumble, his lower lip jutting out in a pout. Steve snorted and fondly rolled his eyes at his mate. He understood why Bucky was being so careful with Y/N though, despite them both having different methods of handling her determination to get back in the water.

It had only been two weeks since the incident, four days since she had the stitches taken out. Bruce, who they learned wasn’t actually a doctor but a scientist with a background of stitching people up told her she was 90% healed. Y/N heard ‘healed’ and decided to run with it straight into the water.

“For the last time, I’m okay.” Y/N griped, biting into her lower lip. Bucky had been hovering over the past few days since she was given the partial clear. Up until earlier today, he wouldn’t let her step a foot in the water. The worst was Steve. While Bucky whined and hovered, Steve was the logical one. He made sure to point out Bruce technically said for her to stay out and that the water would burn on the still healing wound. He didn’t want her to hurt her side again either by moving wrong and knowing her, she’d do something to do just that. She hated how right he was and how smug he was about it.

However, Y/N was at her breaking point. She missed being beside them, forgetting her worries and wrapping herself around one or both of her mermen. She craved the affection they had before, how she fit perfect between them surrounded by their warmth. They equally missed her too, but neither wanted her hurt anymore. It almost broke them to pieces after the last time she was nearly killed. They wouldn’t be the same if anything else happened to her again.

“I know you will be.” Bucky sighed, reaching up to cup her cheek. Y/N leaned into his touch, cool and comforting despite her mouthing frustration. “I just want the all clear from your doctor that it’s okay for you to get back in the water. Trust me, I want you back in my arms again too, but until we know for sure, I don’t want to risk it.”

Y/N nodded dejectedly. Steve slid up next to Bucky and leaned his chin on Bucky’s shoulder. A small smile of reassurance slipped on his face, a sparkle in his blue eyes that told her all she needed to know. He wanted her home as well, but they had to be patient.

“Why are you two so responsible?” Y/N groaned, dramatically rolled her head back. Both mers let out a chuckle, their hearts picking up speed at the lopsided grin on her face. Bucky sent Steve a glance, the corners of his eyes crinkling from his smile. Steve pressed a quick kiss to Bucky’s cheek before he wrapped his hand around the back of Y/N’s neck and pulled her into a searing kiss. Y/N melted, humming softly against his lips. Pulling back, Steve pecked two more kisses on her lips before he leaned back.

“We just don’t want you to get set back further by injuring yourself more.” He explained softly. Y/N pouted but nodded.

“Yeah, I know.”

The door opening behind them caused her to pause and all three turned around to face the newcomer. Maria was making her way down the steps, a grin tugging on her lips.

“You better not be getting in the water.” She scolded despite her light tone. Y/N groaned and buried her face in her hands.

“Not you too!” She whined. Bucky snickered softly and rubbed a hands on her thighs. Maria barked a laugh, stopping to sit on the lounge chair beside the water.

“Nice to know they’re not enabling you.” Maria winked at the two mers before she turned back to Y/N. “Actually, Fury and I wanted to talk to you for a minute, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, of course. He inside?”  

Maria nodded and stood, sticking out a hand for her to take. The two mers dropped their hands from Y/N, neither happy about her leaving their line of sight. However, the two had come to know Fury and Maria both a lot more the past few weeks and knew that neither would let anything else happen to Y/N. As Fury put it once, it was now personal to keep Y/N safe.

“I’ll be back later, not getting in the water.” Y/N complained. Bucky and Steve sent her dazzling cheeky smiles and waved before they slipped under the water. Y/N shook her head and followed Maria up into the main house, the smile lingering on her lips.

Y/N had been staying in Maria’s room at the main house since the attack. Neither Maria nor Fury let her back to the bungalow, at least not until they got the go-ahead from Bruce that she was free to be alone. They wanted her close in case she needed anything, but she had a feeling it was only because they felt guilty for not doing more for her. They didn’t let her do much either. Essentially, she had been on bed rest for two weeks and was itching to get out. Maybe this was about them letting her go back to the bungalow.

“I found her trying to slip in the water.” Maria instantly ratted her out. Fury looked up from his newspaper, his single eye casting a disproving look to Y/N. Y/N eyes went wide, her mouth falling open with an indignant scoff.

“I was not!” She grumbled, flopping onto the sofa. Maria raised a brow and took a spot on the love seat. Y/N narrowed her eyes at Maria and stuck her tongue at her. Fury just shook his head, by now used to the banter between the two women. He let out a sigh, passing over the newspaper to Y/N. she frowned and took the pages. “What’s this?”

“Dunno. Why don’t you read it and tell me.” He shrugged and sat back with his hands clasped across his lap. Skeptical, Y/N straightened the pages and read over the headlines. A gasp slipped from her lips, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

 ****“Wh-what?” Y/N whispered, skimming through the frontpage story. Stunned, there was no way this could be true. A smirk curled on Fury lips and he nodded happily.

“You read it right.”

Y/N’s eyes fell back on the black and white pages, jaw still unhinged. This was definitely not the strangest things she’s encountered. To anyone else, they’d believe the headlines. There was no reason for them to guess otherwise, but not with her. She knew this was the farthest thing form the truth.

**TRAGIC BOAT ACCIDENT TAKES THE LIFE OF MISSING WOMAN’s FIANCE.**

Y/N unfolded the paper, reading the segment. She wasn’t even sure what she was reading, but there was one line that jumped at her.

_‘The body found on the boat was positively identified of the missing woman’s fiancé, Taylor Hoffman, age 29. Locals claim to have spotted him leaving in a rented boat in hopes to find the remains of his fiancé.’_

Y/N collapsed into the cushions behind her, her eyes glazing over. Fury and Maria waited patiently, a sly grin on both their faces. It took a few days for them to put this together. Fury had to call a few favors, but by the end of the week, they had everything set up. Right down to the way the boat would explode without tipping off the rest of the police.

“I… I don’t understand though.” Y/N’s brows furrowed. “How did you managed to get the body right?”

“That was a little difficult, and gross might I add. Your two mermen made sure there wasn’t much left of them.” Maria chuckled. Y/N’s face drained of color. She really didn’t want to think about that no matter how much of a relief it was that he was gone. Maria caught her expression, clearing her throat. “But it didn’t take much with Tony’s gadgets. The police’s database isn’t exactly protected well. We just went in, changed a John Doe and moved the body to the boat.”

“It’s like a freaking TV show.” Y/N muttered, shaking her head. Maria giggled. Fury simply raised a brow and sat forward.

“Long story short. He’s dead and gone. And if you want, you’re free to go home.”

“Why would I do that?” Y/N asked, confused. “I thought everyone thinks I’m dead.”

Fury shrugged. “Not exactly. The rest of society thinks you are, but Sharron’s known you’ve been alive for weeks now.”

“What?” Y/N gasped.

“Yep. She figured it out pretty quick when we went poking around at the precinct.” Maria supplied to fill in the gaps.

“So, she knows about what happened to me.” Y/N whispered, somewhat ashamed. Why she wasn’t sure. Maria frowned, catching the quiver in Y/N’s tone.

“She knows that Taylor tried to hurt you and that we’re keeping you safe. She and Phil both are the two people I would put my life on the line for and I know they would never judge you or treat you poorly because someone tried to hurt you.” Maria reassured her. Y/N looked at her hands, her face twists in an uncertainty. “Look. If we understand if you don’t want to put yourself back out their anytime soon. We get it. But just know if you ever decided it, 100 and ten percent, we’d back you up.”

Y/N nodded, biting her lower lip. This was still a lot of information for her to process, but it was still her coming back to whether or not she really wanted to leave. The harsh truth was she really didn’t have a home to go back to and she was really only staying on this island because of Taylor. Now that he was gone, she wondered if it meant she would be forced to leave.

The bungalow wasn’t hers. It was Maria’s, who no doubt would want her home back at some point. However, Y/N didn’t- couldn’t leave Bucky or Steve. They were her life now. Not the house she was in the process of buying, not even the job she had spent so long searching for. That was all a distant memory, a life she would never be able to look at the same again.

Just the thought of leaving the two mers behind made her heart clench in her chest. Her palms clamed up, and the blood pounded in her ears. The anxiety flared to life and she knew there was no doubt. There was no way she would possibly ever be able to leave them. They had a hold of her heart. But what could she do? They were from two separate worlds, one stuck on land and the others stuck to the ocean.

“Hey.”

Y/N jumped. Maria was suddenly in front of her, having taken a seat on the coffee table in front of Y/N. She gently took hold of Y/N’s hands, a warm smile on her face.

“This isn’t us pressuring you to leave.” She said her tone soothing. Y/N frowned and looked away. “Nothing has to happen right away. I know this is still really fresh for you and there’s still so much you have to figure out.”

Tears sprung up, she had to blink them away and turn from Maria. It wasn’t as if she hid it well, Maria saw the way her eyes glistened and filled with sorrow. She shot Fury a look, jerking her chin in a nod. Fury tilted his head and dug into his pocket for his phone, not needing another word said to understand what Maria meant. Maria turned back to Y/N and reached out to squeeze her hands.

“Why don’t you get some space and go back to the bungalow, take some time to breathe and relax. Talk with Bucky and Steve. Just relax. Nothing needs to be done right now.” She said gently.

Y/N nodded numbly, sniffling quietly. Maria tugged Y/N to her feet and led her down the hall.

“Do you want me to tell Steve and Bucky, or do you want to do it yourself?”

Y/N thought for a split second before shaking her head. The walk over would help her compose herself better, she knew they’d both panic if they saw her with teary eyes and heavy weight on her shoulders again. All because she now had to make a choice.

Maria let Y/N slip from her fingers, frowning at the way she listless walked to the front door. She hesitated, the door shut softly behind Y/N debating on whether or not she needed to go after the poor woman. It might not have been fair to Y/N, she didn’t exactly tell her the whole truth. Fury wanted it to be a surprise, but from the conflicted expression on Y/N’s face, Maria was second-guessing that decision.

Ignoring the voice of doubt, Maria went to the green house room where Bucky and Steve were waiting patiently after their quick dip in the waters. Both frowned when they saw Y/N missing. Maria knelt beside the edge of the water, her arms crossed at her waist.

“Y/N went back to the bungalow. We fixed it up, and she needs her space to think. But I know she’ll want you two there to help her.” Maria said. “Just be there for her. That’s really what she needs right now.”

Bucky and Steve both exchanged a look, concerned at the tone in her voice. They nodded and slowly slid back into the water, neither certain what to expect when they dipped back in the water and over to the bungalow. Maria stood once they disappeared underneath and headed back inside.

“Did you get a hold of Tony?” She asked Fury. He nodded, tapping away at his phone as he finalized a few things.

“He said he can be here next week. He wanted to make sure everything was in place before he came back.” He said keeping his eyes on his screen. “Bruce said he’ll be up in three days to do a final check up with Y/N and give her the all clear. Sharon wants to stop by and talk with her too.”

Maria scowled and settled in Y/N’s previous seat of the couch. “I don’t think her being here would be the best approach right now.”

“I told her as much. We’ll wait until after Tony’s visit for her to come by and visit.” Fury nodded, setting his phone down. Maria let out a relieved sigh and nodded. Silenced filled the room between them, neither needing to fill the quiet right away. After several still moments, Maria took in a deep breath.

“This is really going to happen again, isn’t it?”

“It sure seems like it will.” Fury nodded, a slow smirk spreading on his face. The two exchanged a look, the corners of their lips turned up in a happy smile. Lives were going to change, and Fury had a feeling his quaint little island was going to grow a little more crowded by the end of the month.


	34. Chapter 33

Y/N slid her eyes shut and leaned back on her hands while her feet dangled over the edge of the deck. The breeze had a therapeutic effect, the rhythmic crashes of the wave below lulled her calmed thoughts. She understood why so many people flocked to the ocean side and built a life here. Even her looming decision of her fate couldn’t deter the calm she felt right now.

The sound of water breaking beneath pulled her back the earth, a quiet grunt of one of her mers settling in the spot beside. She could feel the water drip off his body, his cool arm pressed against her side, soaking the side of her shirt.

“Hey, baby.” Bucky cooed gently. “Maria told us you needed a minute to think?”

Y/N’s eyes fluttered open and a sad smile slipped on her face. So much for forgetting her troubles. She nodded slowly, letting out a heavy sigh. Bucky frowned, wrapping around his arms around her waist and lifting her on his lap. She didn’t even bat an eyelash at how her clothes soaked through, instead, she snuggled further into his comforting hold. There was another sound of the water breaking and Steve pulled himself to sit beside them with a heavy thump.

“How’s my best girl?” He leaned over, his lips pressing against her forehead. Y/N hummed and tilted her head back, reaching out to pull him back. Steve chuckled softly and tenderly kissed her, smiling at the noise of content that slipped past her lips. Bucky shifted with her in his arms, scowling at her attempt of swaying them.

“She’s keeping things to herself,” Bucky replied, sighing softly. Steve pulled back, his brows creasing at Bucky’s tone. He turned to regard Bucky’s guarded expression before he sent Y/N a pointed stare.  

“You have anything you want to tell us?”

Y/N tucked her chin to her chest, her cheeks heating up.  Steve raised a brow and hooked a finger under her chin, tilting her face back to them. She hated how they could cut to the chase and didn’t beat around the bush.

“Y/N.” He mumbled, brushing his thumb against her lower lip. “Please don’t do this again. Talk with us, let us in. We’ll help any way we can.”

He was so sincere, so earnest. That was enough to bring forth the tears once again. Steve sat taller, his eyes grow wide at the sight of her tears spring forward. Bucky tightened his grip and buried his face in her neck, pressing kisses against the nape of her throat. She shook her head and waved off their concern, sniffling loudly to contain her cries.

“It’s just,” Y/N sniffled, rubbing at her cheeks. “Now that Taylor’s gone, I don’t have to hide anymore. He’s not going to hurt me, he’s never going to get the chance to ever again.”

“Right,” Steve agreed uncertainly. Bucky leaned back, frowning at Steve. “What’s the problem with that?”

“It’s not that.” Y/N sighed. She reluctantly moved off Bucky’s lap, pulling a whine from the mer. He sulked but let her slip between them. She took hold of each their hands and squeezed. “It means I get to go back home.”

It was like the wind was knocked from their lungs and their heart dropped to the pits of their stomachs. Terror filled both Bucky and Steve. It wasn’t as if they never thought about what would happen to Y/N after Taylor was gone, it was a haunting thought they both had. However, they still hadn’t gotten this far in their plan. And now it was here staring them in the face.

Bucky instantly started panicking, his breath coming in quick and shallow. He shook his head, chewing on his lip and began to pull away. Y/N’s eyes went wide, her own horror of realization hit her, and she reached back to grab his shaking hands.

“No, please listen.” Y/N pleaded, holding firmly so he couldn’t pull further away. “I can go home. If I wanted to. But I don’t think I can anymore. Not after you.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Bucky bit, his entire demeanor switching. Y/N shrank slightly, confused and a touch hurt. Steve growled low in his throat and pulled Y/N against his chest. “What? She wouldn’t be so upset about this if she wasn’t considering it?”

“No Bucky-.” Y/N started once more reaching out to place a hand on his arm. Bucky snarled and batted her hand away.

“Don’t lie! You can go back to your comfortable land, all happy and free, leaving us behind to deal with the giant hole in our lives.” He flashed his teeth at her, ignoring the hitch in her breath and how she looked utterly heart broken. Steve opened his mouth to argue, but both were stunned by what happened next.

“Shut up!” Y/N bellowed. It was like a switch flipped inside her. She wasn’t weak and defenses, not anymore after everything that happened to her. Y/N still had fight in her, and no way in hell would she let Bucky put words into her mouth. Where she got the voice in her, she didn’t know. But seeing his jaw go slack at her yell sent a rush of adrenaline through her. “You don’t know a damn thing I was going to say because you haven’t let me explain!”

Steve had to bite his lip to keep down his laughter. Bucky was sometimes a bit quick to jump to conclusions, most likely his biggest fault. Most of the time Steve handled it simply how Y/N did, with a quick snap to keep it in his lane. Sure enough, Bucky’s thoughts caught up and he looked away ashamed. Steve rubbed Y/N’s arms and tenderly kissed the back of her head. It was enough to help her let out some of her hot air, her tone calmer now that at least Bucky was more willing to listen.

“I don’t want to leave!” She stated firmly. Bucky flinched at the lingering fury and glanced over to her from the corner of his eyes. “God, we’ve already established that I love you two, as incredibly frustrating as you can be at times. I’m just thinking about everything else. Where am I going to live? Where are you going to live?”

Steve’s fingers fell from her arms and Bucky’s head lifted up as her words slowly started to sink in.

“We come from completely different worlds. We’re literally two different species that shouldn’t have ever met. I have to live on land, and you two have to live in the water. I know I can breathe underwater, but my body’s not made to live underwater for my entire life. Not to mention I have zero ways to defend myself even if I could.” Y/N began to explain, laying out every little detail and doubt that came into her mind. “We already know from first-hand experience you can definitely not survive for very long out of water. It doesn’t leave us many options.”

“Well, what about-.” Bucky gestured to the building behind him but stopped short. It wasn’t hers. They had spent their entire relationship here on this deck, he had completely forgotten this wasn’t even her home. He looked back at the water, his own home, and he felt the same sorrow she must have felt. She had no home, not anymore.

“Exactly. I have nowhere to go. I can’t ask Fury and Maria to give up this home, I’ve already put them out enough. But I won’t leave you two. I can’t. I just have nowhere to go.” Y/N uttered, her heart breaking at the shattered expression on Bucky’s face. A quick glance behind her showed Steve was no better. He had straightened to face the water, his eye blank and hollow. She reached back to run her fingers through his drying hair, smiling at the way Steve unconsciously leaned back into her touch. “That’s what I’m worried about. I have no idea what to do or where to go. All I know is I’m not leaving you.”

Y/N turned back to Bucky, her fingers slipping from Steve’s hair so she could wrap her arms around his neck. Bucky made a soft noise, instantly leaning forward, his hands framing her face and his lips crashing against hers. He kissed her like it was the last the chance he’d have, his kiss heavy and intense. Y/N let him take charge, opening her mouth to let him slip his tongue in, to claim and dominate her fully. She moaned softly, echoed by his own groans. Reluctantly, he had to pull back to gasp for air.

“You can’t leave us.” He whispered against her mouth, his words cracking from his anguish. Steve was there, pressing his chest against Y/N’s and wrapped his arms around them both. He squeezed, pressing Y/N tightly between them. Relief washed over them both, not a word needed to express how they all felt. This was where they were meant to be, wrapped up in each other’s arms. 

“I don’t ever plan on leaving you.” She whispered. Steve made a soft noise in the back of his throat, peppering kisses along her shoulder. Bucky let out the air he was holding, his shoulder’s sagging in relief. 

They had no idea what was going to happen, but they knew, despite all odds, they’d do it. Together.  


	35. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT’S HEERRRREEE!!! Alright, so first things first. I’ve said this on my Tumblr page, but I know a lot of you all haven’t seen it. ****I WILL NOT be putting smut in the main storyline.**** It's not rated explicit and I didn't have plans at first to write it in, but a lot of people have spoken their interest in having a part for that. I haven't decided yet, but when I get finished I most likely will do a standalone for the smut. It won’t have to be read to follow the storyline, and it probably wouldn’t come out until the stories complete. Thank you for understanding! I do hope you enjoy this part! Let me know what you think!!

 Their collective attitude hadn’t really changed much for the next two days. Bucky was still sullen, Steve had grown quiet and receded into his mind. While Y/N was scrambling to figure out what to do. She probably could find a house beachside somewhere, but would it have the same privacy as the island? Of course, then there came all the problems with that. What if someone saw them? How would she even be able to afford a beachfront house in the first place?

If there wasn’t a house, what about a boat? She could always live on a boat. But she didn’t even know the first place to start with that, not to mention she didn’t even know how to steer one. No, even if she did get one, got lessons and so on, she had a feeling she’d never be comfortable enough to handle and take care of one. Not to mention they were incredibly expensive. No matter what possibility she thought of, it wasn’t working out.

The only silver lining was when Bruce came to visit and gave her the full clear to get back in the water. It was just him this trip. Tony had something he was stuck working on back home, but he sent his warm hellos with Bruce. As Bruce step foot in the living room, he knew there was something wrong from the feel of the air. There was a palpable tension, both mers sitting on the deck side by side while Y/N stared blankly at the wall in front of the couch.

“Um.” He began, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Y/N blinked rapidly and turned to him with a weak smile and hollow hello. “How are you feeling?”

“Well, besides there being the occasional soreness, I feel good.” She leaned back, propping her legs up on the table to stretch out. She cast a look to her right, Bucky and Steve now watching intently through the open doors. Bruce nodded and crossed the room to sit on her injured side. He gently tugged the hem of her shirt up high enough to see the freshly healed scar. He didn’t have to look long, she actually could have been cleared last week but he wanted to just make sure. Lowering her shirt back in place, he shot her a happy grin.

“Looks great. You’ll have the scar, but other than that there’s no was extensive damage or extra stress during the healing process.” He shrugged and patted her shoulder. “I’ve been told you’re dying to hear this: You’re free to get back in the water.”

Y/N let out a giant sigh relief, but instead of running out the door like he assumed she would, she sagged further into the cushions. Bruce was a touch confused. The frown on her face didn’t help the confusion either.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. No need to go crazy.” He deadpanned. Y/N chuckled and shook her head.

“Sorry,” She apologized. “I’m happy, don’t get me wrong, but now I have no real reason to stay here anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Bruce asked, glancing at Bucky and Steve. The two mers had turned back to the water, their shoulder tense, possibly able to catch her words. “I thought-.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean they aren’t a reason. I just- This isn’t my home. It’s Maria’s.” Y/N waved to the room around them. Bruce’s frown deepened. “I can’t stay. I’m also not leaving them behind. I won’t do it.”

Bruce leaned back, his brows furrowed in confusion. Slowly, it was dawning on him that maybe Maria hadn’t told them everything, about what was already in motion. He let out a long breath of air. Y/N shook her head, oblivious to things going on around her.

“I’m sorry. This isn’t your problem. Thank you, Bruce. For everything.” She turned and placed a hand on his, squeezing tightly. Bruce’s lips turned up in a half smile with a nod.

“You’re welcome.” He patted her hand and stood. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I need to go stop by and talk with Fury for a moment anyways. It was good to see you again.”

Y/N stood as well, her smile genuine as she followed him to the door.

“You too. And thank you again, Bruce.” Y/N said, leaning against the door. He gave a wave over his shoulder and headed to the pathway in the trees. Shutting the door, Y/N leaned her back against the wood and sighed, her eyes falling on the backs of her mermen. They had leaned against one another, Bucky’s head resting on Steve’s shoulder, tucked right in the crook of his neck. Steve rested his head on Bucky’s, interlocking their arms. Y/N’s heart fluttered, a warm smile stretching on her face. Crossing the room, she stepped out the door to the deck.

Steve moved first, twisting around to smile up at Y/N. He reached an arm out, inviting her to take up his other side. Y/N shook her head and bent down to press a kiss to the back of his head. Steve frowned.

“You’re not going to come sit?” He asked confused. Bucky’s titled his head to watch Y/N carefully. He didn’t speak, not sure if this was a good or bad thing that she wasn’t snuggling up beside Steve. She giggled, their matching expression as if they were puppies she just kicked.

“I will, but I need to go change real quick. Be right back.” Y/N patted his head and turned before either could say a word. Bucky sat up straight, his eyes watching her walk back inside and disappear down the glass hallway. Both waited patiently, their attention homed in on the door. Less than Five minutes later, Y/N walked back out, now wearing her bathing suit underneath her oversized white t-shirt. Instantly, the two perked up, smiles stretching on their faces.

Bucky grabbed for her first, swinging her around his side to settle on his lap. Y/N let out a squeal, surprised at his eagerness. He cupped her cheek and kissed her soundly. Y/N always loved how different the two were. Bucky was more passionate with an occasional nip and a lot of tongue, as if he couldn’t get enough and was desperate to drink in more. Steve, however, was slow and sensual. He made a point to drag his lips against hers, wanting nothing more than to take his time to memorize and savor everything she could give. They were two very different kissers, but no less addicting than the other. Pulling back, Bucky let out a whine and tugged at her shirt.

“You’re going to want to take this off if you don’t want it to get wet.” He muttered, chest heaving. Y/N snorted and rolled her eyes but was quick to take it off and toss the shirt over their heads back on the deck. A giant grin spread on his lips, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. In a very ‘Bucky’ sort of way, he wrapped his arms tighter around Y/N and launched himself off the deck to the water below.

Y/N squealed when they hit the cool water, Bucky’s laughter right in her ear in response. There was a second splash of Steve jumping in beside them. Untangling her from Bucky’s arm’s, Steve tugged her against his chest and took his turn to kiss her senseless. He didn’t have to worry about hurting her, not anymore. They were in the clear and they couldn’t be more ready to finish what they started. Steve let her go long enough to swim them back to the surface but didn’t let her drift too far from his arms. Bucky was right behind her, keeping her locked in place between them. The air shifted, a tension growing between the three. Y/N looked up through her lashes at Steve, her heart rate picking up.

“What’s got you blood racing?” Steve smirked. Y/N gulped, her cheeks burning. Nothing could get past them it seemed. Steve and Bucky chuckled, both leaning in to nuzzle on an opposite side to her neck.

“Now that you’ve been given the all clear, we can finish the ritual,” Bucky said hotly against her skin. A shiver shot down Y/N’s spine, their lips skimming against the sensitive skin on her neck. It didn’t escape her they kissed along the same spot where she would have gills if she was a mermaid. Just because she didn’t have them, didn’t mean she didn’t understand the meaning behind the gesture.

“Right now?” she asked breathlessly. Steve exhaled softly and drew back to nod.

“If you want.” He said. “There’s no rush if you want to wait either. But after almost losing you, it’s kind of kicked out instincts into overdrive.”

At the mention of their instincts, there was an answering groan from the mer behind her. Bucky’s hands settled on her hips, tugging her back against his pelvis as he rolled his hips forward. Y/N yelped, her hands flying forward to grip Steve’s shoulder. He clicked his tongue and flicked at Bucky’s nose, stopping his mate short. Bucky snarled, but let her go with an oath.

“Like I said. Overdrive.” He said flatly, glaring at Bucky. Y/N worried her lower lip, brows furrowed in concentration. She had already decided no mater what happens, she was going to be their third. A bit unorthodox, but she figured so much had already happened to her that this was completely reasonable.  Two adorably sweet and caring men who’ve already admitted their love and devotion to her? She’d be mad to wait any longer.

“What do we have to do to finish the ritual?” She asked softly. Steve grinned.

“Well, we’re already in the middle of the courting ritual. Typically, it’s the male that peruses the female, giving her gifts, showing off how well they can provide for her and so on. Like we’ve said, it can go on for weeks sometimes only days. How it ends to move on to the mating ritual is normally the female either gives a gift back, or she just says she’s ready to begin the mating ritual.” He explained, drifting closer.

“In other words, you’re just waiting for me to give you the green light?” She asked.

Steve paused, thrown by her choice of word. It wasn’t something he heard before, but he got the gist of it. He nodded, practically trembling in anticipation. Bucky was no better off. They couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything more than heavy petting until she gave them the go ahead. They hoped this was it. However, Y/N needed a few more questions answered first.

“So, let’s say I do say it’s time. What happens next?”

Steve trailed his fingers down her arms, a slow smile spreading up across his lips. Goosebumps followed his delicate touch, her body quivering from the intensity in his eyes, his pupils swallowing the blue whole. Bucky’s hand returned to Y/N’s waist and he leaned forward to press open mouth kisses along the column of her neck.

“Well, once you give us the clear, the courting ritual ends, and our mating ritual begins.” Steve drawled. Y/N nodded slowly, blinking the haze from her eyes. “We’ll take you someplace where no one can bother us, where we’ll be alone for as long as we need. And there, all three of us will finish the mating ritual.”

“A-and what’s the mating ritual?” Y/N asked breathlessly, her voice trembling. Bucky smirked against the skin of her neck, brushing his lips up her neck to her ear.

“I think you can take a guess.” He purred, catching her earlobe between his teeth. His right hand trailed up her torso to wrap delicately between her neck, tilting her head back against his shoulder to expose her neck. Steve hummed low and bent down to pepper kisses to the exposed skin under her chin. “We’re ready, whenever you are. Just say the word, baby girl.”

Y/N’s eyes fluttered shut, her body reacting to their heady kisses and caresses. There was almost no time for her to catch her breath, Bucky dragged his lips along her sensitive neck and shoulder, sucking deeply at her pulse point. He wanted to mark her, to show the world she belonged to him. His hand trailed up her back, toying with the ties of her bathing suit.

It would be so easy to rip it off and lay her bare between them. Y/N moaned, her hips jerking back against his instinctively, throwing off his train of thought. He chuckled and returned to tighten his grip on her waist and dragged her back against him. Steve pressed himself against her and followed Bucky’s lead by latching on the opposite side of her neck, nipping at her skin.

Y/N struggled to keep her wits about her. It wasn’t a push or pull, the two seemed to work together in hopes to help her forget her name and she had a feeling that’s exactly what their goal was. Steve kissed her senseless, his tongue eagerly slipping into her mouth. He groaned low in his throat, tilting his head to deepen the kiss further. It was hard, but Y/N had to tear her lips away.

“W-wait.” She gasped, her chest heaving. Reluctantly, Bucky nipped her neck one last time before he drew back with a grunt. Steve chuckled at the pout on Bucky’s face and pulled back to nod for her to continue. She inhaled sharply, collecting her thoughts. “How-how would this even happen. I mean… can we even-you know?”

“Are you asking if we’re sexually compatible?” Steve cut to the chase. Y/N sputtered, her face hot in embarrassment.

“Well, it’s a perfectly reasonable question. I mean do you even have a-you know? I’ve just never…  well seen-I mean-oh God.” Y/N groaned, rubbing her temple. Steve and Bucky had to bite their tongues, she was already embarrassed enough the laughter bubbling up their throats wouldn’t help. Steve at least had the decency to spare her any further embarrassment by answering her failed attempt.

“Yes, we are more than compatible.” He peered over to Bucky, shaking his head at the amusement on Bucky’s face. A snort slipped out of his tightly sealed lips. The giggles won the battle, the sound causing her stomach to flip. “We’ve run into more than enough late night adventurous skinny dippers to figure out things work about the same for both parties.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m not the one who got curious,” Steve said defensively. “Bucky’s the one who wanted to see what they were doing. That’s also about the time he learned to control his impulsive curiosity more.”

“Hey. In my defense, I was young and had no idea  _that’s_ what was happening. I never saw it before anyways, so how was I supposed to know?” Bucky protested. Y/N giggled, patting the hand still on her waist. Nobody ever wanted to walk, well swim, in on people in the middle of sex. It must have been traumatic enough as it was, she didn’t need to tease him anymore.  

“Either way, we both are thrilled to say things are going to work out perfectly fine.” Bucky purred, rubbing his cheek against hers. Y/N relaxed in his arms, the knot in her stomach loosening knowing things weren’t going to as difficult as she thought it might.

“Is that all you were worried about?” Steve asked, gently brushing a finger down her cheek. Y/N nodded, biting into her lower lip. Steve tutted and traced his thumb along her lip to tug it free. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We are a completely different species after all. It doesn’t mean we find you any less beautiful either.”

Warmth bubbled up her chest. Two seconds ago, they were ready to devour her whole. Now, she felt the shift from hot and heavy to comfortable and warm. Desperately, Y/N wanted to say the words both Bucky and Steve wanted to hear her say. It was right there on the tip of her tongue.

She placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heart thump heavily under her palm. Her eyes traced along his neck, drinking in the muscles covered with his sun-kissed skin before her gaze landed on his gills. The longer she stared, the more she needed to trace the tender skin, more than aware of the meaning behind the caresses. They had taken the time to mark and kiss the skin where her gills would have been, it was her turn to return the gesture. She reached a thumb up to trace the thin lines, careful not press too hard. She wasn’t going to hurt them. Steve’s shuddered, his eyes fell shut and a moan slipped from his lips.

Bucky whined, taking hold of her other hand to drag her hand back to against his neck. Y/N giggled and curled her fingers around his neck, tracing along the skin between the gills. He shuddered, letting out a sigh before he leaned his body against hers. Steve’s eyes snapped open, his pupils were blown wide, the black once again swallowing his beautiful blues. Y/N’s breath caught in her throat. It was now or never. Inhaling deeply, Y/N smiled wide. Steve’s breath caught in his throat, his heart now lodged up in his throat.

“I’m ready for the mating ritual.”

Bucky reacted first. A snarl ripped from his throat, the control snapping at her six worded sentence. He spun her around before she could blink and crashed his lips against hers with a firm grip on her face. She melted instantly and moaned, tangling her fingers in his hair. She could taste his lust, the heat causing her thoughts to turn to mush.

Steve had a similar problem as Bucky, his control went out the window the second she gave them the clear. He shot a glanced around them, his instincts screaming at him to get them out of the open and someplace safe. He was already thinking of all the little hidden beaches and caves around the area. She couldn’t see underwater sadly, which meant they couldn’t hide away like he wanted. But at least they needed to get away from the island where people still were. Tugging Y/N away from Bucky, he ignored the hiss from Bucky and nodded over his shoulder.

“I want this as much as you Bucky.” He snapped shortly. “But we need to go someplace else. We don’t want anyone seeing things that belong to us.”

Bucky blinked rapidly, hearing Steve but not really want to agree with him right away. He couldn’t drag his eyes away from Y/N, and as much as he hated waiting, he knew Steve was right. He bit his lip and nodded sharply.

“Better find us someplace quick.” He bit out. Steve wrapped his arm around Y/N’s waist and gestured for Bucky to follow. He already had a place in mind, the perfect little hidden oasis. Before dragging her back in the water, Steve bent down and crashed his lips to hers in another mind-numbing kiss. Bucky, ever impatient, bit Steve’s shoulder.

Steve hissed low, baring his teeth at Bucky for the bite. Bucky was less than impressed.

“Mating spot first. You can suck her face then.” He objected. Steve scowled. However, he understood Bucky’s anticipation and tightened his grip around the still flustered Y/N. She didn’t have a chance to catch her breath, grateful she could at least breath underwater. Closing her eyes, she relaxed and let Steve propel them through the water. Nerves were still there, but she wasn’t regretting her decision.

Y/N was more than ready. It didn’t take a genius to figure they were too. After years of having a hole in their lives, Bucky and Steve would finally feel complete. And for the first time in her life, Y/N now had her real happily ever after. She probably wouldn’t have the marriage she always dreamed of, but this? This was a thousand times better.


	36. Chapter 35

A blissful sigh passed through Bucky’s lips, his head tipped back in the sand. Y/N’s naked body was draped across his chest, Steve snuggled up behind her. They had made sure there was no room between them, wanting every bit of her touching them. She had only just started snoring, her steady breath tickling his skin. The sun had already set over them, the canopy of the trees above filtered the moonlight caused her already glowing skin to glow brighter. She was breathtaking, ruffled hair and all. She was perfect and all theirs. 

Steve purred, curling further against Y/N, and reached across to rub circles where Bucky’s skin and scales met. Bucky whined low. That area was sensitive enough as it was, Steve’s touch didn’t help. 

“Steve.” He groaned roughly. Steve chuckled, stopping his stroking but kept his hand firmly in place.

“Can’t help it.” He murmured, keeping his voice low to not wake Y/N. “It’s addicting.”

“Yeah, but she’s exhausted.” Bucky couldn’t argue with that. “Let her sleep.”

“I’m not bothering her.”

“Yes, but you’re bothering me, which means I’m going to end up bothering her by bothering you.”

Steve was silent for a beat. “How little self-control do you have?”

“Says the merman who couldn’t control himself long enough for us to get here.” He chuckled, shooting a look over Y/N’s head to Steve. “We had to stop because in your exact words were ‘you’ve waited long enough, and you weren’t going to wait any longer’ seconds before you hauled her underwater.”

Steve’s face went bright red. He ducked his head against Y/N’s back, hiding a grin at the memory of him pulling her down under a coral reef. Okay, he wasn’t one to talk, but still, he couldn’t help it when it came to her or Bucky for that matter. His instincts had been screaming at him for weeks, her getting shot and nearly dying was the icing to the cake. It took a large amount of control not to throw out taking them to a safe location. Especially when she started sucking at his pulse point under his ear. Bucky wasn’t going to let them get remain distracted, as tempting as the thought was. 

After their little detour and they eventually made it safely to the tiny island with the hidden shoreline underneath a canopy of trees Steve selected months ago. There, neither gave her a moment to catch her breath, wringing every ounce of pleasure from her that they could.

Satisfied and blissfully boneless, Y/N had only just fallen asleep after hours of several rounds of the mating ritual, and neither wanted to wake her. They might still be ready for another round, Y/N, however, was not. Both knew that having Y/N as a mate would mean there’d be a few changes in their dynamics. She didn’t have the same stamina level that they did and would end up needing more breaks. They also knew her body wasn’t exactly made for the excessive sex they’d end up having. But he nor Steve were ever going to complain, it just meant they’d learn better self-control.

“I don’t feel incomplete anymore, now that we’ve finished the ritual. I didn’t as much before, but now it’s done. It’s real.” Steve whispered against Y/N’s head. Bucky hummed in response, nuzzling against the crown of her head. “I still can’t believe we have another mate.”

“Me neither.” Bucky’s voice hitched in his throat. Steve tipped his head back, his eyebrows knitting together at sight of tears in Bucky’s eyes.

“Hey.” He reached out to cup Bucky’s cheek, rubbing his thumb against his cheek. Bucky shook his head and turned to press a kiss against Steve’s palm.

“Happy tears. I swear.” He took in a shuddering breath and tightened his grip around Y/N, who slept on. “It’s just like you said though. I don’t feel lopsided like I’m missing my arm anymore. I knew she was special; I just had no clue it was this. You were my life before, but when I grabbed her before she sank to the bottom of the ocean, I knew she’d end up being my world too.”

“I don’t think either of us could have known.” Steve murmured in agreement. He caught Bucky’s eye, his eyes glowing with adoration and devotion. Bucky’s breath caught, a smile spreading on his face. “I love you. Both of you.”

“I love you too.”

“I love you too, but please let me sleep.” Y/N sleepy voice startled the pair. At some point, their voices woke her, and it took her a minute to remember where she was. Now though, Y/N nose was scrunched up in a pout. Both stared down at her with wide guilty eyes. Steve pulled his hand back from Bucky and stroked his fingers down her side.

“Shit, we’re sorry baby.” Bucky swiftly apologized, cheeks heating up. She grumbled and buried her face against his chest with furrowed brows.

“Why aren’t you two tired?” She whined. “I’m struggling to stay awake, and your both having coherent conversations.”

Steve chuckled and began to pepper kisses along her bare shoulder. She let out a sigh, relaxing back in Bucky’s arms, listening to the soft beating of his heart under her ear.

“We shouldn’t have woken you. We’re just a little different than you.” Steve explained. “Go back to sleep. We’ll make sure to keep it down.”

Y/N made a noise in the back of her throat, already drifting off to sleep. Steve continued to trail his fingers down her side while Bucky curled his fingers through her hair. Neither said a word until they heard her breathing steady and her body went lax. Exchanging a look, they didn’t need to say a word to agree it was time to join her in sleep. Steve heaved a sigh and leaned over to kiss Bucky.

“Goodnight Buck.”

“Night Steve.” Bucky grinned lazily, settling back in the sand. Steve watched as Bucky’s eyes slid shut, waiting until his breathing evened out before he draped his arm back over the pair and let himself slip into a blissful slumber. All three unconsciously snuggled closer, smiles spread across their faces in their sleep.

* * *

“We don’t have to go back.”

“Bucky, I need to eat!”

“We can find you something here!”

“And I’ve told you. I’m not eating a half chewed up starfish!”

Steve sighed, holding back from rolling his eyes at the duo. Y/N had woken the next morning famished. She sat up and nearly passed out, the color of her face rushing from her cheeks. Steve and Bucky both panicked, worried they hurt her the day before. Before she even opened her mouth, her stomach let out a deafening growl.

Steve let out a chuckle and decided as much as they didn’t want to leave, Y/N needed to eat. Bucky was less than keen on the idea of leaving so soon. For the past twenty minutes, he’d been whining and was grating on Steve’s last nerve as they swam back to the island. Finally, Steve had had enough.

“Bucky! That’s enough.” He snapped. Both Bucky and Y/N jumped at his tone, their eyes growing wide. “Y/N needs to eat, and you need to remember she’s got different needs than us.”

Bucky snapped his mouth shut, bashfully turning his face away. He muttered an apology, realizing how ridiculous he was acting. Y/N giggled from her place on Steve’s back, shaking her head.

“I know. I didn’t want to leave either.” She cooed. “Maybe next time we can prepare better so we don’t have to leave so soon.”

That was enough to placate Bucky, he turned and shot her a dazzling smile. He ducked underwater to swim circles around the two, occasionally brushing a hand down her thigh or against Steve’s chest. Steve snorted, ignoring his mate’s sudden behavior change and pushed forward. Y/N squeaked when Bucky grabbed a handful of her ass after one pass behind.

“Bucky!” She waved a hand under the water, shooing him away. Bucky appeared beside her with a bubble of laughter, a smile from stretching from ear to ear. “Your such a ham.”

“Can’t help it,” He snickered. “You’re just too cute.”

“Alright, Buck.” Steve smiled despite his warning tone. He could tell Bucky was winding himself up and needed to stop. Fortunately, the island was coming up over the horizon. He patted her clasped hands around his neck. “Hold tight.”

Burying her face into her neck, she had enough time to tighten her grip and close her eyes as Steve ducked under the water to shot off with a flick of his powerful tail. Bucky was right there beside them, expertly twirling up and around them. Steve hummed, watching Bucky show off his agility and grace. He didn’t stop until Steve began to slow as he neared the shoreline, a smug grin spread on his face.

“Show off,” Steve remarked once above the water. Bucky just chuckled, pushing his hair from his face. Bucky couldn’t help it though, he was happy. He had both sets of mates. He was complete.

Y/N blinked the water from her eyes, completely oblivious to what had happened. Bucky dipped forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek before he pulled himself up the deck. Steve quickly followed, once again leaving Y/N in awe at the strength he contained. Now that she didn’t need to hold back, she could help but ogle at the way his muscles bunched and pulled under his skin. The pretty blue and black of his scales on his arms reflected off the sunlight, a stark reminder that they weren’t one of the same. Yet it didn’t matter to Y/N.

Steve let her slip off his back before he settled on the other side of her. They hadn’t even glanced behind them to the doors of the bungalow, but Bucky had. He froze, twisting around to stare through the glass with daggers. His muscles tightened, ready to lash out and protect. Steve caught on quicker than Y/N, noticing how Bucky grew silent and tense. He wrapped an arm around Y/N’s waist and tugged her protectively against his chest. She let out a squeak, suddenly finding herself smashed against his torso.

The low growl the two made sent shivers down her spine, and not in the best way. Her hair stood up on end and her heart rate picked up. She was able to rotate just enough to glance over Steve’s shoulder. A part of her was surprised, but she blinked in disbelief. Sitting in the living room, sipping something from a tumbler was none other than Tony Stark.

He didn’t seem remotely fazed about Steve or Bucky’s reaction. Tilting his head to the side, Tony threw them a cheeky grin and raised his half-full glass.


	37. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned on getting this done for Saturday, but I got done early. Super long part, it’ll probably be a little dry in the fact that it’s a lot of storytelling in a story. However, there are questions that are FINALLY answered!! Enjoyy! ♥♥

“Tony?” Y/N squirmed out of Steve’s hold and stood despite their efforts to keep her in place. She tutted and swatted their hands away. “Stop it. It’s just Tony.”

Tony watched entertained as she struggled to sidestep their grips. She snapped at them, growling at them to knock it off and stepped into the room. She paused awkwardly at the door, water dripping on the carpet. Tony motioned to the back of one the chairs, a towel and t-shirt neatly folded on the seat. Grabbing the towel, Y/N quickly dried herself off, threw on the shirt and moved to take the seat the towel was on.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been told you’re having trouble figuring out where to go now that you don’t have your psycho ex running after you,” Tony smirked, a little bit of amusement in his voice. Y/N blinked, sitting straighter in her seat. “And I didn’t want you to go run off before I had a chance to talk with you about something.”

“O-oh.” Y/N said slowly. “Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

Tony drank the rest of the drink before he stood and walked over to the sink to set the cup inside. Y/N frowned. He was doing this intentionally, the smirk on his lips sent her anxiety skyrocketing. Slowly, he turned to her, tucking his hands in his pockets.

“Not here.” He said. “Why don’t you go get dressed, and then we’ll take a trip.”

“Um.” Y/N glanced between Tony and the door where Steve and Bucky was glaring daggers through the open door. “I don’t-.”

“I promise you; this is a life-changing opportunity,” Tony reassured, the smirk slipping from his lips. Y/N was still uncertain, but she knew Tony had yet to lead her wrong. Letting out a heavy breath, Y/N nodded and stood.

“Give me a few minutes.” She said and went to the room to slip on a pair of shorts. After dressing and stopping to quickly brush her teeth, Y/N stepped back into the room with her hands clasped in front of her. “I’m ready.”

Tony nodded and started to the door, stopping with his hand on the doorknob. He turned and raised a finger.

“Oh. One more thing. Tell them to come to meet me at my boat. They’re included with this decision.”

Mumbling a confused okay, Y/N walked over Steve and Bucky, relaying Tony’s command. Both bristled and started to argue, but Y/N cut them short.

“Listen, I know you don’t like him for reasons I don’t know honestly. But he says he has something to talk with us about. We a least need to hear him out.” The two grumbled but nodded. She watched the dive back in the water, their bodies blending in with the blue as they darted off towards the yacht at the dock. Shutting the door, she followed Tony down the beach.

Tony stepped on the yacht first, Y/N blown away by the sheer size of it. It had to be one of those million-dollar yachts from the looks of it. There was even a small pool at the back. This was enough for Y/N to pause and stare at Tony. Just who was this man?

“Alright. You two.” Tony pointed to the heads that popped up out of the water on the side of the hull. “Come around back and jump in the pool.”

Steve and Bucky both frowned, looking at each other. They weren’t going to do that.

“Why can’t they just swim beside?” Y/N asked.

“Where we’re goin’, they’d be seen pretty easily, not to mention it’s pretty far.” Tony shrugged, motioning to the pool. “If they’re in the pool at least it’ll look like their just swimmers. And before you ask, it’s salt water that has the same temp and PH as the ocean. There won’t be a shock to their system. They’ll be fine.”

Y/N was still uncertain, staring over to Steve and Bucky. Both mer didn’t enjoy the idea particularly, everything in them was telling them not to go. However, Y/N was right. Tony had done nothing wrong; he had been nothing but helpful during their trying time. They just couldn’t figure out what it was that set their teeth on edge. It took one look at Y/N to know they needed to swallow their pride and climb over the edge into the pool.

Tony waited until the two were safety in the pool before he took a seat on the build in benches and tilted his head to the deck up above.

“Alright, Happy. Take us home.”

A man appeared over the edge, startling the three newcomers. Steve and Bucky ducked their chins underwater, glaring at Tony. Y/N took a step back, trying to cover the mermen in the pool. But the man, Happy, didn’t seem slightly fazed that there were two men with fish tails in the pool below. He gave a thumbs up to Tony and ducked back inside to the helm. The boat was kicked on, and Y/N only had a chance to sit with her feet on the step leading into the pool before it took off.

Bucky and Steve were there at the steps, their hands reaching out to hold on her to legs and hands. She gave them a tight-lipped smile and clutched their hands tightly. Steve pressed a kiss to her knee, taking in a deep breath as he leaned his cheek against her leg. Bucky stayed at her feet, keeping an eye on Tony over Y/N’s shoulder.

Y/N had no idea where they were going or if this was even a good idea. But Maria vouched for Tony, as did Fury. They knew things about him that Y/N might never know. They’d yet to break her trust and she knew they’d never willingly introduce her to someone dangerous. It was just Bucky and Steve freaking her out. That’s all it had to be.

At one point, Tony had gotten up and wandered inside the yacht to the galley, coming back out to pass Y/N a bottle of water. He left her to sit for the remainder of the trip, disappearing in back inside. Y/N watched the ocean pass by, slowly more and more islands growing the closer they came to the main island. As more boats became noticeable, Y/N grew jumpier as they passed.

Bucky and Steve both ducked deeper underwater, their eyes wide with fear. The clutched on to Y/N, trembling against her skin as she stroked their hair. Completely unaware of what was in the pool of the passing yacht, the locals went on with their lives and only glancing their way as they passed before dismissing the fancy yacht. It wasn’t until they passed the island, leaving the humans behind, that Y/N was able to relax.

It was almost half an hour later that the yacht began to slow. Y/N glanced around, frowning at the island they were pulling up to. It looked out of place from the rest around them, a cliff on the far-left side with a massive jungle taking up the entire island. There wasn’t a single sign there was home anywhere, not even a dock for the boat. Before she could even ask where they were, Happy steered the boat towards the cliff, swinging the giant boat around with expert precision to head straight into a cave just wide and tall enough for the boat to slip into.

Y/N gasped, standing up to look over the edge. The long tunnel opened up to a giant manmade cavern, lines of docks with other boats, some smaller and larger in the water. Around the perimeter were walls of glass, showing off the several floors of what looked high tech labs straight out of a sci-fi movie wrapped around the perimeter. What was even more unsettling was the number of massive aquarium tanks lined up along the metal docks on the first floor. Y/N eyed them carefully, an uneasy feeling growing in her stomach. What could they possibly be used for?

“Tony?” She called out with concern. When he didn’t answer the uneasiness grew as the boat drew closer to the dock, Happy expertly docking the massive vessel.

“You called?”

Y/N let out a startled yelp, her heart leaping into her throat. Tony blinked innocently as if he hadn’t just appeared out of thin air. He motioned for her to step over to the boardwalk Happy dropped. Y/N glanced over to Bucky and Steve, who both looked ready to jump over the edge and bolt at any given second.

“I have something I want to show you all. But first,” He waved to someone over the dock. Two giant men stepped up, wide grins on their face. Y/N gasped and spun to Tony.

“Who are they?! What about Steve and Bucky?!” She hissed.

“Don’t worry about that. They know all about our underwater friends. They’re here to help carry your mates into a tank. We’ll go take a seat on the little deck next to the tanks.” Tony replied smoothly. Y/N’s mouth fell open, stunned.

“Wh-what?”

Tony pulled her aside to let the two men step up. Y/N watched them walk up to Steve and Bucky, stopping at the edge of the pool. By this point, Steve and Bucky both had plastered themselves to the opposite end of the pool, their teeth bared. The black started to seep into their eyes, their skin turning sickly pale. Y/N started to move forward, but Tony stopped her short with a hand on her arm. She spun around, ready to fight back, to tell him to back off, but his unsettling relaxed expression stopped her short.

There was no malice, no ulterior motive. He seemed to understand her fear, was patient about it even. Y/N turned back to Steve and Bucky, her heart in her throat. However, what she turned to see was surprised. Not even two minutes had passed since and Bucky and Steve had both relaxed. She watched in confusion as the men titled their head to the side and then Steve and Bucky both willingly swam in front of the two men.

“Come on, they won’t be out of the water long enough to be affected.” Tony tugged her arm. Astonished, Y/N let him pull her off the yacht and towards a tank. Tossing a look over her shoulder, she watched Steve and Bucky be lifted out of the pool effortlessly by the two men. The mers locked eyes with her, smiling in reassurance. They were comfortable despite being literal fish out of the water.

“Up the steps. Take a seat on a chair.” Tony waved her up the metal staircase around a tank. At the top were a large metal deck, plush lounge chairs and a table set up beside the tank. Tony guided her to sink into the seats just before the two men appeared up the steps. With surprising care, they let Steve and Bucky both slip effortlessly into the water, muttering something to the two mers as they did. They stood and nodded to Tony before disappearing back down the steps.

Tony settled into the open chair, grinning widely at the three who were now staring skeptically in his direction. Y/N opened her mouth, slowly closed it and opened it once again. Tony cocked his head to the side and folded his hands in his lap.

“Yes, Y/N?” He grinned cheekily. She furrowed her brows at his tone, frustration building up.

“What’s with all the smoke and mirrors? You keep avoiding my questions and then you put Steve and Bucky into a tank like animals. The only reason why I haven’t run out of here screaming yet is because of them. Now tell us; what the hell is going on?” She snipped. Tony held up his hands in surrender, a proud grin on his face.

“Alright, alright.” He chuckled. “I could explain things to you, but I think you should hear it from a trusted source.”

“What-?” Y/N stopped short, hearing a pair of footsteps walking up the steps behind her. She twisted around, eyes growing wide when Maria and Fury both walked up on the metal deck. “Maria? Fury, what are you two doing here?”

Maria smiled gently and sat on the empty chair beside Y/N. Fury remained standing, his arms folded behind his back. Y/N looked between the two, confused and slightly worried. Even though Maria looked relaxed, still no one had told her what was going on. Tony told her this was a life-changing opportunity, but she had yet to see it.  

“Maria, did you want to let her on the little secret of our ever-growing family?” Tony asked cheerily, crossing his leg to rest his ankle on his knee. Maria rolled her eyes at the smile stretched on his face and turned to Y/N.

“I’m sorry he’s such a pain.” She shot him a glare. “Tony means well, but he never learned how to people correctly when he was growing up.”

“Hey, now-.” Tony started to protest.

“Anyways,” Maria ignored him, talking right over his squawk. “I guess to explain I should start from the beginning.”

“That might make me feel a little better.” Y/N murmured, gaze darting over to Bucky and Steve. They had rested their arms on the deck, watching and waiting vigilantly for Maria to continue.

“Okay. Well, I suppose I can start with how this whole thing has come to be.” Maria waved around her. “See none of this would exist if it wasn’t for Tony’s father, Howard. About three decades back there was a company that will remain nameless, was a top marine biology institution. It claimed to preserve the ocean as well as all the endangered species in it. It was meant to be good.

Howard Stark was a top scientist and mechanical engineer, the best of the best. The company contacted him, offering him a highly sought-after but an incredibly classified job. As far as he knew, the company wanted him to design a top of the line tanks that can help keep PH balances, the temperatures and ensure the life of the aquatic species lives longer while they recover in the tanks with minimal maintenance.” Maria paused, furrowing her brows. She swallowed loudly and took in a shaky breath. “He had no idea what the horrors were behind the sealed doors.”

Y/N’s heart climbed to her throat, dread filling her. Tony had grown serious and Fury looked solemn. Turning back to Maria, she nodded for her to continue.

“Turns out, the company wasn’t so trustworthy. When Howard walked through the door, he was greeted with rows of tanks, much smaller than these here, filled three-quarters of the way with water. Except it’s what was inside the aquariums that was the real horror. Instead of fish or dolphins that needed to be rehabilitated, each tank held a single ‘hybrid-species’ as they called them. Mermen, mermaids, cecaelians, half-sharks, and species that the rest of the aquatic world had no idea even existed or let alone seen in years. Rare and incredibly endangered living beings, both adults and children alike, were forced into cramped tanks with no way to hide for protection.” Maria continued on, her voice trembling. Y/N reached out and took hold of her hand, gently squeezing to show her support. Maria smiled weakly and continued on.

“They were kept malnourished, kept apart from their kind to keep them weak. The things that they did to them, words can’t even describe the unspeakable horror the mers and others went through. They were tortured, used for experiments. Even though the mers pleaded with them that they would give them what they wanted if they just let them go, they were treated like they were nothing more than animals. Howard knew it was wrong, but there was only so much he could do. He was there to change the tanks, to ensure they kept the ‘captives’ alive.

Everything in Howard told him to go report the company, but he knew they had enough power to hide this away and completely discredited him or possibly even worse. They’ve made people disappear before, they’d do the same to him. He knew he couldn’t leave the mers and rest behind if he left the job, so instead, he stayed. Not for the tanks, but to ensure they survived long enough to be saved. Between the installments and updating, he did everything possible to show them he cared by slipping them food when they’d been denied for punishment or slip them seaweed for their wounds. He would even sabotage his own tanks so that he could come back to fix them. Howard put his life on the line every day and along the way he managed to gain the mers trust.” Maria paused to take a breath, seeming to steel herself as she pushed on.

“For a while, he was able to pacify the company with his jobs, all while keeping the mers safe behind the scenes. Howard knew that he couldn’t keep up with the charade for very long. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before the company branched out and tried to force breeding. They had children already, so the question of how they mature was being answered. Still, Howard knew that once the children reached sexual maturity, they’d force them to mate if they had too.”

Y/N slowly turned to look over to Bucky and Steve, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Steve had an arm thrown around Bucky’s shoulder, tucking him protectively against his side. Bucky’s chin was rested against his folded arms on the deck, his eyes staring blankly at the ground in front of him. They were both rattled by Maria’s words. Never had they imagined there was someone out there who knew about their kind, who took them from their ocean and used them for their experiments. They knew times have grown dangerous, but never did they think it was like this.

“Since the beginning, Howard started finding ways to get things together, a hope of possibly creating a safe haven for them until they could find the strength to make their way back home. He knew he had to get them out, so he kicked into overdrive. He, his wife, as well as his longtime friend Peggy Carter, put every dime they had together into making this. Howard was already becoming successful; he had an entire company himself he was building so he didn’t have to take these jobs anymore. But he needed more for what he wanted to do.”

Y/N looked around the cave, slowly starting to realize the importance of the space around them. This wasn’t some hidden scientific lab with creepy tanks, this was a safe haven made to save the creatures of the deep. Despite all that, Y/N knew Maria was nowhere near done with her horror story.

“It had to be some twenty plus years ago when Howards finally pulled the trigger. It all started when a scientist tried to separate a young mermaid from her mother. The girl was probably no older than five, just old enough to remember every detail.” Maria paused, her brows pinching together as if in pain. She inhaled deeply and shut her eyes as she began again. “The mother lashed out, unwilling to allow them to take her daughter. She fought back, injuring the scientists that tried to subdue her. She had already been forced to watch them kill her mate, she wasn’t willing to lose her child as well.”

Maria struggled to swallow; tears started to form in her eyes as the words fell from her lips. She sniffled loudly and blinked rapidly as she shook her head. Y/N frowned and once again squeeze her hand reassuringly. She sent Y/N a pained smile before she began again.

“They couldn’t subdue the mermaid. I’m sure you’ve seen firsthand how they’re incredibly strong as it is. Imagine how powerful they can be when someone they love is in danger. So, they did the only other option they could to get her to stop.” Maria’s eyes closed tightly, taking in a deep breath. “It was horrid and vile. And the young mer had to see then silence her mother’s life right before her eyes.”

Y/N had tears in her eyes, the slow realization dawning on her. Maria was talking too candidly about this, the raw emotions she was feeling wasn’t of someone just telling them a story. It was of someone who lived through it. Leaning forward, Y/N gently stroked her thumb along the back of Maria’s hand.

“You don’t have to finish if you don’t want to.” Y/N reassured kindly. Maria took a second to compose herself, her lower lip trembling and her face twisting from the agony. She shook her head and let out a heavy breath.

“Howard had an idea of the horror they could unleash, but he never thought they’d be so heartless to rip a child away from her mother and to slaughter her in front of the girls’ young eyes.” Maria looked over to Tony, who was staring blankly at his hands. He glanced over their way, a pained expression on his face. “Howard did what he had to do. His plan was simple enough, get in and get them out. But it was harder than he thought. First, he had to figure out how to get them out. It wasn’t easy, but since there was a dock for easy loading when they found new victims, he at least had ways to get them out. Tony wasn’t the first person to put a pool in a boat. The difficult part was getting the boat in unnoticed and getting the nearly two dozen captives into the boat. It took some favors to be called, but somehow, someway, Howard got them out.”

“Well, that’s great then. They were finally free.” Y/N whispered optimistically. Maria shrugged with a bittersweet smile.

“In a way it was. Howard knew it was dangerous, but he had to do it. Of course, once the company found out every one of their precious experiments was gone, there was no way they could possibly bring attention to it. If the public knew the creatures that lived in the ocean, well it would be mass hysteria. It didn’t stop them from threatening to hunt each and every creature back down.” Maria sighed. “For Howard, it became the question of what to do with the victims. He couldn’t let them heal and back out into the ocean. Not with the danger of them being found.”

“Which is why you are here.” Tony swiftly stood, tucking his hands in his front pockets. Y/N blinked, surprised at his sudden shift in his demeanor. Maria was still telling the story, what did Y/N have to do with this?

“Wait, but what did Howard decide to do?”

“See my dad knew there was no way he could just let his new wards back into the great wide ocean, knowing they’d most likely just get scooped up again.” Tony continued on. “The thing about this is that it wasn’t just my father that managed to get the innocent beings out. There was a man there, one of the favors I suppose, who was a well-known scientist that was hired to study their genetic make-up. Like my father, he couldn’t leave without fixing the wrong. Dr. Abraham Erskine had started his version of their escape with an idea. He wanted to give those captured a chance, not a way to forget who they are, but a chance to start a new life anew. That night my father broke in with Aunt Peggy to get those poor captives out, Dr.Erskine was there as well to administer his part of the plan.”

Y/N slowly glanced over to Maria and then to Fury. Maria’s pain was gone, instead, she had a pleasant grin across her face. Fury still had his signature frown, but the corner of his lips appeared softer than before. Falteringly, she turned back to Tony.

“What exactly do you mean?”

“I mean,” Tony said with a grin. “Dr. Erskine created something that gave them that chance.”

Still at a complete loss, Y/N turned when Maria sympathetically patted her hand.

“He means, Dr. E did the impossible and succeed in his mission. He designed a special serum that rearranges our genetic make-up. He used his research not hurt us, but to help us.” Tilting her head back to the side, Maria bared her neck to Y/N. Three thing black stripes, stripes Y/N swore she had spotted once before, were closed shut. To anyone else, it would have just seemed like thin tattoos, but Y/N knew it meant more than that.

“You were that girl.” Y/N inhaled sharply. Of course, it had dawned on her before that maybe, just maybe Maria was hiding the fact she herself was a mer. Maria’s story gave her more hints it might be. However, before all this, Y/N had no idea there was even a way for her to walk on land. “But you have legs!”

Maria threw her head back and laughed. Fury snorted and rolled his eye while Tony snorted.

“Yeah, I have legs right now. But I can still grow my tail back.” She giggled. “It’s painful at first, but Tony’s been working on updating the serum so that the transitions between the two forms is less painful the more often you do it. He uses me kind of like the guinea pig.”

“Kind of like a muscle,” Tony interjected. “The more you use it and train it, the less likely you’ll get a cramp or pull a muscle.”

“After my mother’s horrible death, I was lost especially now that I was thrown into a world I had no idea how to live. Howard knew I needed guidance and took me under his wing.  Tony and I practically grew up together. When Tony’s father retired, he passed his legacy on to Tony. Despite Tony’s shortcomings, he made sure he took care of me when we were young and now as we grow older.” Maria shot Tony a fond smile. Tony cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with sisterly pride in her eyes.

“Yeah well. I was sick of hearing you whine about it every time you went for a swim.” He deflected. Y/N giggled but scowled when another thought occurred to her.

“But wait. That still doesn’t explain Fury. Why would Maria be living on Fury when she could be living here? Or with you somewhere else?”

“Ah yes, his story.” Tony spun to Fury and titled his head to the side. “Shall I tell, or shall you?”

“I’ll tell it,” Maria interjected before the annoyed ex-detective could. “I live with Fury because we work together. The reason why Howard picked this location for the hideout is that he could essentially erase this island’s existence from the rest of the worlds knowledge.”

“Jeez, your dad is pretty powerful.” Y/N muttered in unmasked awe. Tony beamed and Maria simply rolled her eyes.

“Don’t let either of them hear that. They both have giant heads as it is.” Maria said dryly. Tony at least looked slightly offended, but not enough to comment. “Yes, Howard is an incredibly powerful man. When he and Dr. E banded together, they did so much more than just make a serum. He is one of the richest men alive. It’s also why the company doesn’t poke it’s nose around here. At least, as often as before.”

“As often?” Y/N questioned.

“Well. That’s where Fury comes in. See, a few years ago I was young and full of anger. I wanted to find all the men who did me wrong and bring them to justice. Since I was still learning the human’s way, I didn’t think to realize that killing wasn’t a right of passage for humans. For mers, it can only be done when their mates or family members have been harmed. I might look human, but I’m still a mer deep down.” Maria explained.

“So, you found the men, and Fury found you.” Y/N guessed.

“Mm, not quiet. When you’re angry and reckless, you tend to miss things that need to be covered. I left behind too many clues, made it too easy to be found. Some hired men spotted me when I was swimming back to the hideout. Fortunately, I was far enough away they had no clue it was here. Unfortunately, I wasn’t close enough to cry out for help from my brethren. They chased me to the reef just beyond the main island.” Maria said with a dark expression.

“They managed to hit me, I don’t remember if it was with a gun or harpoon. But it was enough I was bleeding out and losing consciousness. I must have hit a current, or I maybe thought if I could swim to the shore I could change back and escape that way. I don’t remember. All I can remember is when I woke up. Fury was standing over me, poking me with a stick.”

“I didn’t know if you were alive or dead.” Fury said defensively. “You’re the one who turned all green and hissed at me with your black eyes!”

Y/N frowned and sent Bucky and Steve a look. They had been quiet the entire time but were watching with amused grins. She quirked a brow and Bucky chuckled low, winking at her in response.

“It was a defense mechanism. I didn’t know if you were the men trying to kill me or not.” Maria giggled and nodded to Fury. “Even though I tried to take a chunk out of his arm, Fury still insisted he’d try to help me. At that point, there was no reason keeping a secret from him. He deserved to know what hell hole he walked into.”

“It was a few months later that I learned there were men in the precinct that were under contract with the assholes who did this to her and her kind.” Fury said gravely. “It was around that time I bought my own island with my savings and decided to retire. But not before swiping the locations of more hidden labs to tear down.”

“We found out that they still managed to steal more of my kind. Tighter security, less access, they went the whole nine yards. Fury and I have been finding ways to breach into their systems so Tony and Bruce can get in and get them out. Then there’s also those of us who pledged to fight alongside and bring the company down. They can get in easier by faking getting caught and disabling the security from the inside with their legs.”

“We’ve really perfected our techniques over the years. Most of them chose to live lives on land since no one but us knows about the serum and they’re not being hunted all the time.  As a whole, we’ve saved almost thirty other sea people like Maria in the past decade.” Tony boasted. For once, Y/N didn’t roll her eyes at his sense of pride. He had every reason to be proud of that.

“That’s… That’s absolutely amazing.”  Y/N murmured. “All that aside, what does our situation have to do with this history?”

Tony paused for a moment, looking Y/N up and down before turning to do the same to the silent mers in the tank. They tensed under Tony’s scrutiny, but now that they knew about Tony and all the good he’s done, they no longer felt the caution like before. It still didn’t mean they like the way he stared at them.

“I want to offer you a way you can all be happy. You’ve had some pretty shitty things happen to you, past year alone for sure.” Tony said slowly. “You can refuse if you want of course. Bottom line, I’m offering you and your mates the chance to have the happiness you all deserve. We would like to offer the serum.”

Y/N’s mouth nearly fell open in shock. Bucky and Steve both exchange apprehensive, yet hopeful stares. Would this be something they’d want? All they’ve ever known is the ocean. To Y/N, she was at war with herself between right and wrong. She knew the ocean was their home. It gave them more freedom than she knew any other plot of land could. She couldn’t ask them to give that up, at least not for her. She stared at the two of them, her brows furrowed as she repeated Tony’s words.

“I-.” Y/N started. Bucky noticed her faltering. He desperately wished he could climb up out of the tank and pull her into his arms to calm her. It dawned on him then that he had the chance if that’s what he wished. It could very well become his reality. Slowly, he turned to Tony and ignored the lump that lodged itself in his throat.

“W-Could you give us a moment to speak?” He asked. Tony was pleasantly surprised that Bucky spoke, assuming all he was ever going to get out of the two mermen was a growl or maybe a hiss. He shot Bucky a grin and nodded.

“Of course. This isn’t something you should just throw yourself into without talking with the missus.” Tony ushered Maria and Tony towards the steps, stopping short. “I will tell you this if it makes this an easier discussion. The serum doesn’t take away who you are. It only enhances you to hold two forms. I would get into it, but the last time I did I bored the group of caecilians to sleep.in short, simple terms, If you’re worried it will take away the ‘you’ you know now, it doesn’t. You can still choose to be a mer if you decided you don’t like legs. You can choose to stay a human if you decide on that. At the end of the day, it will not change anything other than the ability to shift between the two.”

Nodding in understanding, Y/N felt a slight weight lifted off her shoulders. Bucky and Steve too felt the same relief, finding them both coming to the same conclusion. Tony was right though. They needed to talk to Y/N before they could say yes.

Tony nodded once and disappeared down the steps, leaving the three alone. Y/N let out a loud breath of air and walked to sit on the deck, throwing her feet over the edge into the water. Steve and Bucky were there in an instant, wrapping their arms around her legs and ankles.

“Alright, spill it. I can see you’ve already made the decision.” Y/N smiled half-heartedly. Bucky chuckled and pressed a kiss against her leg.

“I think we should do it,” Bucky uttered against her skin. Steve was nodding beside him, tears springing to the corner of his eyes. Y/N frowned and reached a thumb up to brush the tears away.

“Oh, baby. Why are you crying? You don’t have to do this if you don’t want it.” She cooed. Steve shook his head, grinning madly.

“No, it’s not that. I know I have a choice. My choice is always going to be you and Bucky.” He said firmly. “I can’t speak for Bucky, but do you know how many times I’ve wanted to join you in your bed, to sleep beside you and hold you at night? I want to be able to lay with you, to be with you and not worry about your skin starting to rot off because you’ve been in the water too long. I have that chance now.”

Y/N paused, momentarily forgetting the ache in her chest. “That’s not-I don’t think it works like-Okay.” That definitely not what she should be taking away from this.

“Irrational fears or not,” Bucky side-eyed Steve while he spoke. “I’ve thought the same thing too. You’ve been so accepting of us, so willing to put everything aside for us, it’s time we did the same for you.”

“But I don’t want you to give up your home!” Y/N croaked. Even though they were telling her one thing, in Y/N’s mind she was guilty. Guilty of taking them away from their home, from their friends and family. She could never ask for them to do this, there was no way she’d ever demanded that of them. Just because she was their mate, didn’t mean she was going to expect them to change for her. She loved them for who they were, not for what they could be.

Bucky cupped her cheek, his thumb catching the tears that fell down her cheek. He waited until she looked up, his eyes soft and lips curled in his breathtaking crooked grin.

“Don’t you get it? Home is where ever you are. If we can be with you, we’ll take whatever opportunity we can. Legs, no legs. We don’t care. We both want to be with you.”

Y/N laughed a watery, giddy laugh. Her heart burst in her chest when Bucky beamed at her laughter and gently tugged her down to seal his lips to hers in an earnest kiss. When he pulled back, Steve was there to take his place, pouring all the love and excitement he felt into it. Y/N felt the tension roll of her in waves, their happiness and optimism soothing her guilt and fears. When her eyes fluttered open, she felt better. Much more at peace that seconds ago.

“Alright. Let’s tell Tony.”


	38. Chapter 37- Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone. This is it. This is the last chapter of my longest story ever. I started this not knowing if anyone would ever want to read a story about two mermen and a reader. I was blown away(and still am) by all the positive and sweet feedback you all have given me over the year. Yes, it’s been almost 14 months since I’ve started this story. If you’ve been here since the beginning THANK YOU for sticking around long enough to see the finish. If you’ve just discovered this story recently THANK YOU for being a part of this story too. You’re all amazing, and I’m definitely crying as I write this massive author note lol. I do intend on writing an epilogue as well to wrap up any loose ends I might have missed. I hope you all enjoy this last part. it’s a long one. Thank you again, you wonderful humans♥.

Y/N chewed on her thumbnail, warily eyeing the strange contraption in the center of the room. Bruce and Tony were running around the room with expert sureness as they set up the devices. After Tony took some of both Bucky’s and Steve’s blood, he moved them both to a small tank, just big enough for the two mers to curl together under a few feet of water with their tails wrapped around each other’s. It was unnerving, to Y/N at least. Neither mermen seemed fazed, Maria’s presence beside them seemed to calm them enough. However, for Y/N, the whole idea still made her stomach turn.

They told her this was what they wanted, but she still wasn’t sure. Standing rooted in place, Y/N glowered at the strange machine, eyeing the tubes and outer shell with worry. Tony grabbed a small briefcase and turned, stopping short when he caught sight of the creases in her forehead and hesitancy in her stance. Setting the case down, he walked over to Y/N and place a soft hand on her shoulder. Y/N jolted.

“You okay, kid?” He asked softly, a warm smile on his face. Y/N swallowed loudly and nodded slowly. Tony snorted. “Doesn’t seem like it. Go on. What’s on your mind?”

“It’s just…” Y/N took in a shuddering breath, crossing and uncrossing her arms before finally settling with her arms wrapped around her waist. “This is big.”

“Yes,” Tony chuckled. “It sure is.”

“It’s not just that it’s big. It’s just- I don’t want to take them away from this. For them to lose their home. All because of me.”

“Honey, I don’t know if they’ve told you this,” Tony began gently. “But you’re their home now. They can’t ever be happy without you by their side anymore. Hate to break it to you, but you don’t have many other options.”

He paused, waving a hand when a thought passed through his mind.

“I mean, you do but they’re not the safest option. Either way, this is their decision, and they both seem pretty content with it. Besides, they’re not actually losing the mer side of themselves. They can still change whenever they want. It’s just an added bonus if they wanted to get up and go for a run instead of swim.” He patted Y/N’s shoulder and turned back to grab the case. Y/N frowned and followed behind him.

“What about me?”

“What about you?” Tony asked, keeping his attention set on the case as he opened it. Two vials sat protectively by a foam casing, Bucky and Steve’s name label underneath.

“What if I took the serum?”

Tony paused, looking over his shoulder to Y/N with a smirk. The smirk slipped from his face when he saw how serious Y/N was, her jaw set, and shoulders squared. He let out a sigh and turned around to lean against the table.

“It’s a good thought.” He began. “But unfortunately, you’re missing something that they have.”

“And that is?” Y/N asked with a frown.

“You know how when you were shot, Maria wrapped something around your wound to keep stop the bleeding?” He waited until Y/N slowly nodded. “Well, see there’s something about the mers that no one has ever been able to replicate besides their species. Every species of sea people has a different gift, but they all have the same touch of ‘magic’. They as a whole can access this entire network of power that we as humans can never fathom. Maybe at one time we had the same access and lost the privilege or ability to tap into it, but we don’t have it. Not anymore.”

“So,” Y/N said slowly, making sure she had this right. “The serum kind of taps into their magic?”

“In a way yes. The serum amplifies their power and can change their DNA structure using the serum as a guiding hand. Hence where absolutely nothing changes for them besides hiding the scales and giving them legs.”

“And since I have none of this magic, I’ll never become a mer myself.” Y/N’s shoulder’s dropped. Tony nodded and pushed off the table to turn around once again.

“At least now you know,” He muttered offhandedly. Y/N exhaled wearily and let her hands drop to her side. It did help soothe her guilt, but it didn’t mean she still wouldn’t feel some level of it. They had already done so much for her, she couldn’t possibly ask them for more.

Slowly, she turned back to Steve and Bucky, who had been watching her and Tony with rapt attention. Steve gave her a reassuring smile, while Bucky stuck out a hand and wagged his fingers for her to come close. Laughing softly, Y/N crossed the distance and took hold of his hand, still cool from the water. Bucky brought her fingers to his lips and pressed a lingering kiss against her knuckles.

“It’s okay,” Steve purred, cupping her cheek. Y/N let out a heavy breath and nodded, letting her eyes flutter shut. There was a throat cleared behind them and muffled chuckle.

“Alright, you Dramatic Darcy’s.” Tony clapped his hands together with a wide grin. “Whose goin’ first?”

The two mers tensed, the reality that this was going to happen hit them like a freight train. Bucky shot Steve a troubled glance, who was now gazing at the strange open machine that showed off the padded insides. Steve clenched his jaw and jerked his chin.

“I’ll go first.” He spoke.

“Perfect, Maria if you’d be a dear and push the tank on over so he doesn’t have to crawl too far, I’ll put his serum in the injection tube.” Tony waved over to Maria. She rolled her eyes but stepped around to the handles on the back and pushed the heavy tank like it wasn’t weighted down by over 700 gallons of water and two sizable mermen.

Bruce was deeply engrossed with messing around on some kind of control panel, having to push his glasses up his nose every few seconds as he worked. He paused to watch Tony and Maria help Steve out of the tank, neither seeming slightly fazed as the water sloshed over the sides. Y/N stayed beside Bucky and kept an iron grip to his hands while they watched Tony and Maria move Steve into the strange machine. Maria helped Steve with his tail, the muscle able to bend and curl at the wide base before she and Tony strapped his waist in place. Suddenly a thought occurred to Y/N and her heart climbed to her throat.

“Wait! What about his tail? Wouldn’t he dry out?” She asked panicked. Bruce paused to look up, giving her a reassuring smile.

“It will take him a while to dry out, but the machine with close here in a few minutes and water will fill the chamber until after the serum takes effect. For now, Maria’s going to wrap him up in wet towels.” As he explained, Maria grabbed a stack of towels on a table and dips them in the tank. She passed it over her shoulder to Tony, who went to wrap the towel around Steve, and dipped the second towel in the water.

“We’ve done this plenty of times,” Bruce reassured. “We’ve got things down pretty much to a tee. Hopefully, those’ll fit them. It’s kind of hard to guess how big someone is going to be after the first shift.”

Y/N glanced over to the table, spotting the pair of neatly folded sweat pants and white t-shirts. It certainly did help her feel better knowing they were so experienced with this whole thing.

“Alright,” Tony said. “I’m not going to lie to you. This is gonna suck.”

Steve shot Tony a panicked look, his eyes bulging out of his eye sockets.

“What do you mean ‘going to suck?’”

“In other words,” Maria elbowed Tony’s side. “This isn’t going to be an easy change. It’ll hurt like a bitch, and nobody would judge you if you screamed. I did.”

“And cried,” Tony interjected. “Don’t forget you cried.”

“I was seven, Tony.” Maria snapped. Tony chuckled and patted Steve’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry.” He grinned. “You’ll be fine.”

The two stepped back; Tony going to Bruce’s side while Maria walked over to Y/N and Bucky. Maria reached out and took hold of Y/N’s other hand, gently squeezing as they waited on the sidelines. The two other men took turns pressing some buttons and flipping switches, moving in sync with each other around the screens and control panels.

The machine hummed to life, the sides closing around Steve and sealed shut, leaving only the small window that showed his face. As it started up, Y/N watched the water level rise in the window covering Steve’s face. His eyes slid close; the nerves clear from the way his brows creased together.

“Administering the serum in three… Two… One…” Bruce counted down. He pressed his thumb against a button, the panels lighting up and humming. A bright light began to grow in the window, increasing to the point that Y/N and Bucky had to look away. They could hear Steve crying out in pain, a gut-wrenching sound that shook Y/N to her core. Y/N and Bucky both reacted, Bucky snarling low and jumped to the end of the tank.

“It’s okay,” Maria explained, tightly holding on to Y/N’s hand to keep her from sprinting to the machine. “The first time always hurts the worst. It only lasts a moment.”

Before Y/N or Bucky even had a chance to protest, the light dimmed, and the machine began to whine as it shut down. Steve could no longer be heard through the glass, but his eyes were closed tightly, the water now drained from the inside of the machine.

Tony rushed to the table and grabbed a fresh towel and the pants. He threw the pants at Y/N, who fumbled to catch them in her grasp.

“When he gets out, he’ll collapse,” Tony explained, waving Y/N close with Maria right beside her. “Maria and I will catch him, you wrap him up around the waist and then we’ll move him to the chair.”

Y/N opened her mouth, fairly overwhelmed but snapped it shut at the eyebrow raise she got from Tony. He was right, they didn’t have time for pleasantries. She could still hear Bucky hissing low behind her and she knew he wouldn’t calm until Steve was proved alright.

“Opening the machine,” Bruce called from his spot at the controls. The sides hissed low and slowly swung open to reveal Steve. Y/N gasped, her cheeks blazing at the sight in front of her. She knew Steve was big as a merman. And the serum definitely didn’t take away from anything in that department.

“Here we go,” Tony muttered, taking hold of one of Steve’s arm. Maria did the opposite, neither bothered slightly by very nude- now newly turned man they were holding up.

Steve’s eyes fluttered open and blearily looked around. His breathing labored as he struggled to make his new especially muscular legs move under him. He managed to lift a foot but collapsed under the unusual new weight. Y/N shook off her stupor and hurried to secure the towel around his waist.

“I’m impressed.” Tony whistled low. “I think you’re the first to actually be able to move a limb right out the gate.”

Y/N beamed at Steve, pride swelling in her chest. Steve was the more stubborn of the two mermen, so she wasn’t especially surprised he was already willing his new body to answer to him right off the bat. Tony and Maria carefully moved Steve over to the waiting folding chair and gently lowered him on the metal. Steve hissed low when the chill of the metal hit the back of his legs, startling him slightly. Bucky bristled and watched vigilantly, glaring at the chair Steve sat in followed by Maria and Tony both. Steve noticed with a chuckle and gazed over to his mate in the tank.

“It’sokay.” He exhaled deeply. “It was just cold.”

“Yeah sorry,” Tony said over his shoulder as he went back to the control panel with Bruce. “Next time I’ll add butt warmers for you.”

Steve rolled his eyes and chose to ignore Tony, instead he flashed a crooked grin to Y/N. He stuck and hand out, becoming her to his side with a wiggle of his fingers. Taking timid tiny steps, Y/N couldn’t look away from staring at his legs. It was completely throwing her off. All she knew was Steve with his blue and black scales. Yet now here she stared at his surprisingly tan and sculpted calves to his knees and thighs peaking underneath the nearly too small towel. Steve tugged her to his side once she was in reaching distance and gently cupped her chin. She blinked and let him direct her to stare back at his beautiful blues.

“Hey, you good?” He asked gently. Y/N snorted, the corners of her lips turning up.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” She playfully shoved his shoulder. Steve chuckled low and turned his head down to his feet. “How bad was it?”

“Not as bad as I thought.” Steve shrugged. “For a few seconds, it felt like my tail was being split in half. Just when I thought it was going to get worse, it didn’t.”

He lifted his gaze to Bucky, who was curled up against the side and staring widely at Steve’s legs. Y/N inhaled sharply at the panic and anxiety on his face. Pulling away from Steve, she rushed over to Bucky and took his face between his hands.

“Baby, look at me.” She said calmly. Bucky shook as he tore his gaze away from Steve and to Y/N. “You don’t have to do this right now if you don’t want to.”

Bucky opened and closed his mouth, floundering for a response. He was terrified. Despite seeing that Steve was alive, responsive and perfectly fine, the fear mounted to its breaking point. He wasn’t sure he could do this anymore.

“Buck.”

Y/N jumped, startled at Steve’s sudden appearance behind her. He placed his hand on either side of Y/N, caging her in between him and the tank, and leaned against her back for support. She could feel the tremble in his muscles against her back, the strain of forcing muscles to work that he’d never had before obviously taking its toll on Steve. However, he ignored the strain and pretended not to feel the sweat beading on his brow. Bucky needed him more and it was enough to give him strength.

“It’s going to be okay. Yeah, it’s scary and new, but it’s not an end all decision.” Steve said softly. “We’ll be right here waiting for you when you get out. I promise.”

Bucky swallowed loudly, blinking back a set of tears as he nodded. Y/N leaned forward and pressed a passionate kiss against his lips. Bucky melted and pressed up to return with equal fervor, clenching his eyes tightly shut. Steve took Y/N’s place when she pulled back, hooking a finger under Bucky’s chin. Bucky purred, feeling his nerves and worries slipping away as his two loves poured their care and passion behind their kisses. A throat cleared behind them, pulling them from their moment.

“Apologies,” Tony said, though he hardly seemed slightly apologetic. “We’ve hooked up Bucky’s serum. It’s ready whenever you three are.”

Bucky took in a shuddering gasp and stared at the machine.

“Let’s do this.” He uttered.

“Perfect. While Maria and I help in the machine, Y/N if you’d be a dear.” He waved to Steve’s backside. Y/N frowned and looked down, instantly letting out a surprised squeak. Somewhere between the time he got up and stood behind her, the corner of the towel had started to slip open, letting Steve’s right buttock and thigh show off to the world around him. “Please show him how to put pants on so I don’t have the image of his backside imprinted in the back of my skull at night.”

Y/N spun around and grabbed the corners of the towel, ignoring just exactly where she had to grab the front corner. Steve watched with mild amusement as she tucked the corners around his waist better, feeling the heat of her cheeks on his chest. Interesting, he thought. It hadn’t even been ten minutes yet and he was already enjoying the effect this new body on Y/N and made a mental note to see what else he could accomplish with his newfound legs. He smirked and shot Bucky a mischievous grin over her head. Bucky, fully aware of what that look meant, was suddenly very anxious to get out of the tank and into the machine.

Completely oblivious to Steve’s wicked train of thought and now Bucky’s, Y/N beckoned him over to the table so that Maria and Tony could help Bucky out of the tank.

“This isn’t too hard. The tag or label goes in the back. You wanna put one leg in at a time before you pull them up. Shirts are easy too. Just make sure everything’s not inside out and backward.” Y/N explained. She passed him a set of boxers. “This is your underwear. Some guys don’t like to wear them, but for now, try them out. Next goes sweats and then the t-shirt.”

Steve nodded quickly. He reached to unwrap the towel and paused. Y/N had no idea she was staring intently, biting her lip as she waited for him to drop the towel inches in front of her. He raised a brow, a crooked smirk spreading across his face.

“Do you mind?” He teased. Y/N blinked rapidly, tearing her gaze away from his hands at his hips and up to his face. Instantly her face blossomed in heat. She studdered an apology and stepped around him with a hand to shield her eyes.

“S-Sorry.” She apologized again. Steve made a noise mix between a laugh and whine. He reached for her arm pulled her against his chest.

“I’m sorry. That was mean.” He chuckled against the skin of her neck. “While I really enjoy the way your eyes darkened and how you tugged your pretty lip between your teeth, we do have an audience.”

Y/N giggled; her head fuzzy from the way he whispered hotly in her ear. She relaxed him his hold and nodded. Steve hummed and pressed a kiss against her neck before he nudged her over to the machine.

“Go stand and watch Bucky. I’ll get dressed and be right there.”

“Fine. But don’t think you’re going to get away with teasing me.” She muttered. Steve barked a laugh, his eyes crinkling around the corners.

“I don’t plan on it, sweetheart. Now go wait for our delicate mate.”

“Hey!” Bucky called from his spot in the machine. “I can hear you, you know?”

Y/N dipped her head down in embarrassment while Steve shot him a toothy grin.

“And yet, you didn’t deny it.”

Bucky grumbled under his breath, and Y/N had no doubt if he wasn’t about to be hooked up to the machine, he’d cross his arms and find some place to pout in peace. Y/N snickered and grabbed a dry towel off the table, folding over her arms while she waited.

“Alright, times two!” Tony said loudly.

The emotions drained from Bucky’s face, his eyes going blank as the machine closed around him like it had with Steve. Y/N felt less nervous this time and once Steve stepped up beside her now fully clothed, she felt a calm wash over her. The machine hummed to life one final time, the water filling the tank to keep the mer inside alive long enough for the serum to run its course.

“Serum is injecting in three… Two… One…”

Y/N was a little more prepared to look away, shielding her eyes as the light grew past blinding once again in the lab. Steve grunt and turned away, opting to bury his face in Y/N’s neck. His breath hitch in his throat when Bucky’s screams echoed from the machine. It’ll be over in a minute, he chanted to himself. Steve tightened his grip on Y/N, his dull nails biting into her skin. She ignored the pain, waiting for the light to finally dim and Bucky’s heart-breaking cries of pain to cease.

“Maria, lets play catch,” Tony announced. Before either could step up, Steve gently moved Y/N aside and stepped up to the machine.

“I got it, Tony.” He said determinedly. Tony blinked in shock. Steve stood tall in front of the machine with a look of determination written plainly on his face. Even though it was a fairly impressive power move, working his muscles when he barely knew how Tony still hesitated and exchanged a skeptical look with Maria.

“Are you sure? You still look like you just got off a boat for the first time in your life.”

“Yeah, I got him.” Steve nodded, setting his jaw. Tony shrugged and threw his hands up.

“Alright, but if your legs give out on you like noodles when you grab your husband, I have a free pass to stand over you and laugh.”

“Thanks, but not going to happen,” Steve responded smoothly. Y/N giggled, watching Tony roll his eyes and wave to Bruce. He waited with his hand hovering above the release button, incredibly amused by the exchange.

“Opening the doors.” He bit his lip to hold back the smile and pushed the button. The machine hissed and slowly opened to reveal a heavily breathing Bucky. His face scrunched as the cool air hit him and he struggled to open his eyes. His body jerked when a large warm hand wrapped under his arm and around his back. A smaller set of hand slipped around his waist, tying the towel around his securely in place.

“You okay, Buck?” Steve asked softly in his ear. Bucky nodded numbly, his fresh new legs trembling as it struggled to support him. “Alright, don’t go limp on me. The chairs two steps away.”

Bucky nodded numbly once again, struggled to get his body to listen to him. He must have accomplished some semblance of helping, a few seconds later he was lowered on to the freezing cold metal of the chair. He hissed low like Steve and let his head fall back limply.

Panicked Y/N turned to Tony. Steve didn’t have this reaction.

“What’s going on? Is he okay?”

Bruce frowned and grabbed his medical kit before rushing to Bucky sides. He took in Bucky’s vitals, as well as making sure his reflexes were at least responsive before he stepped back.

“He seems okay.” He started slowly. “He’s not having a reaction or anything. The shift might have just taken a lot out of him.”

“I’m fine.” Bucky slurred, waving a floppy hand in the air. “It just kind of zapped me.”

Y/N let out a breath and pressed a kiss to his crown. A loopy grin stretched on his face and he hummed low.

“Well, we’ll give him a minute to get his strength back. Bruce, we can clean up later. Pepper’s back from her meeting and wants to discuss a few things with us.” Tony scrolled through his phone, seemingly less than worried about Bucky’s condition. “Maria, if you don’t mind waiting around until he can get to the kitchen, I’m sure they’d like something to eat. Give us a call if he doesn’t improve.”

Maria nodded and watched the two men walked out of the lab. She turned back to Y/N and looked over to Bucky.

“I’m going to give you three a moment alone. I’ll be right outside whenever you're ready.”

She didn’t wait for a response, already spinning around with her hands in her pocket and a smile on her face. The door shut behind her loud in the pleasant silence of the room. Bucky had finally opened his eyes and was beaming up at his two mates. He grabbed Y/N’s hand and tugged her to his lap, throwing one of her legs on the other side of his hip. He gently held her waist his thumbs rubbing circles on her hip. Steve let out a sigh of relief and sank into the second metal chair beside Bucky. His head rolled to the side, a joyful grin spreading on his face.

“You sure this is okay?” Y/N asked, carefully keeping her weight off his lap. Bucky snorted and tugged at her hip.

“I promise, I’m okay. Just a little shaky.” He assured. Y/N bit her lip and slowly lowered to his lap. “There, see? Not that bad.”

“You just had me worried for a second.” She said and pushed his drying hair from his face. “I thought something had gone wrong with how you were acting.”

“Yeah well, Steve's full of shit.” He groused. Steve tutted and rolled his head to the side to glare halfheartedly at Bucky. “That was not a smooth transition.”

“Yeah well, excuse me for having a higher threshold for pain.” He grunted. Y/N laughed and pinched the bridge of her nose, sensing they were about to start another bickering session.

“Okay. Okay.” Y/N stopped them short. “Enough. Let’s just be happy you both are okay.”

Bucky sighed and looked around Y/N to stare at his feet. He tried wiggling his toes, wincing at the strange sensation and dull pain that was still running through his legs.

“It’s going to take a while to get used to this, that’s for sure.” He grunted. His brain was still trying to wrap around the fact that it wasn’t a tail he was staring at, instead, it was two sets of legs. Not even his scales up his arms survived the shift. He felt, well utterly human. Y/N purred and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Well, you’re both in luck. I’ve had years of experience and know a thing or two on walking. It’s my turn to return the help to you.” She said. Bucky nuzzled against her neck, letting his eyes fall shut as he took in her smell and held her close.

“I’m holding you to that. Looks like you have no excuse to get rid of us anymore.” He joked lamely. Y/N could hear his underlining concern in his tone. It was always an option for you. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Y/N laid her head on his shoulder with her face facing Steve. He smiled weakly. The same thought had drifted in his head a time or two.

“Jokes on you. I never wanted to get rid of either of you in the first place.” Y/N uttered. “I love you both. I know this is terrifying and new. I expect you to get frustrated and want to give up. But I’m not ever going to leave your sides.”

“Mm, good.” Bucky purred and began peppering kisses up her neck. Y/N squealed and tried to squirm away. He held fast, grinning widely against her skin at the sound of her laughter. “Cause there are a few things I wanna try with you two later tonight.”

He leaned back and wagged his brows with a cheeky grin. Of course, that’s the first thought he’d have with his new body. Y/N groaned and playfully shoved his shoulders. Steve scoffed and shook his head.

“If you have the energy to joke, you have the energy to stand up and get dressed.” Steve groaned and stood, pushing up with his hands on his knees. He winced and shifted uncomfortably. “This is going to take time getting used to.”

“I’m sure Tony has something planned to get your muscles trained.” Y/N swung her legs over Bucky’s lap and moved over to the table. She grabbed the boxers and sweats before she turned back around and nearly choked on her own spit as her eyes bulged out of her sockets.

“Bucky!” She squealed loudly.

Bucky had decided to figure out if he could stand and let the towel fall. Now he was stark naked in the middle of the lab and was staring down at himself with his hands on his hips. He blinked innocently up at Y/N.

“What?” He asked. She grumbled and tossed the boxers at him, frowning when he effortlessly caught them in the air.

“You could have at least given me a chance to hand you the clothes before you took off the towel.”

“Why? Does me being naked bother you?”

“Well, no. not exactly.” Y/N fumbled. Both Bucky and Steve raised a brow, cocking their heads to the side. Bucky still hadn’t moved to slip on the boxers and Y/N was finding it harder and harder not to stare. “It’s just-we’re in a fairly public place. And I don’t really think right now is the best of the time to-to check yourselves out.”

Bucky and Steve looked at each other and shrugged. Steve stuck an arm out for Bucky to steady himself on while Bucky slipped the boxers on a leg at a time. Next came the sweats and then followed by the shirt. By the time he was fully dressed, Bucky had his own sweat beading at his forehead.

“Gods this sucks.” He snarled. He felt weak and useless, not at all what he was used to feeling in the water. Steve snorted beside him and nodded.

“You can say that again.”

Y/N exhaled sadly and moved to stand beside them. Bucky wrapped on arm around her shoulder, trying his best not to use her as a crutch as he took his first actual step towards the door. Steve seemed to find his footing faster, either that he pushed aside his discomfort so that he could worry about Bucky.

“I better get lucky tonight,” Bucky grumbled. “And I’m not doing any of the work.”

It was enough to break the tension, Y/N throwing her head back to laugh at the childish pout. Steve let out his own belly laugh and pressed a kiss to Bucky’s forehead.

“Why don’t we just make it to the kitchen first and then we can certainly discuss that idea later.”

Bucky perked up at that. Eager for not only the promise of food but also the possibility to explore his new body more gave him an extra burst of energy. He shoved off Y/N’s and Steve’s shoulders and managed to attain an impressive power walk to the door.

“Well, come on you seahorses! We don’t have all day!”

Steve and Y/N both watched, stunned at how rapidly he seemed to regain his strength. He left them both in dust and was out the door before they had a chance to respond. Gradually, Y/N’s face pinched in confusion.

“What the hell does ‘seahorses’ mean?”

“He’s calling us slow.” Steve replied plainly. Y/N peered up at Steve, not sure if she should be offended or not. Steve only shrugged, his face showing this wasn’t the strangest insult Bucky’s used in the past. The door swung open and Bucky popped his head through the door.

“You two comin’ or am I gonna have to figure things out by myself tonight?”

Steve seemed to consider that.

“That’s something I wouldn’t mind watching.”

Y/N let out a guffaw and smacked Steve’s stomach.

“Don’t encourage him.” She snickered. Steve shot her his trademark grin and wrapped his arms around her waist. She sighed and curled up against his side, letting the mer turned man she fell in love with lead her to the door where the other love of her life impatiently waited. Warmth bubbled in her chest, the happiness that was rolling off Steve infectious.

If someone had come up to her six months ago and told her that her current fiance was actually an insane serial killer married to another woman who had plans to end her life, she’d call them insane. If they ever told her she’d end up falling in love with not just one, but two living breathing mermen, she’d probably see them get committed. It sounded absolutely bat shit crazy and there weren’t going to be many people who would be willing to believe it if she ever did tell anyone else.

It wasn’t a storybook love story, how the three of them met. Their happy ending didn’t come easy. Finally, though, there was no need to hide away, no more constantly looking over her shoulder. Y/N was free to live her life with Bucky and Steve both. Y/N didn’t even know if this was their happy ending yet either. But she knew she wasn’t going to be alone any longer.

For the two mers, the hole they felt for so long was finally filled by their third and final piece and she was more than eager to spend the rest of her days by their sides. Now Bucky and Steve were gifted legs, opening up new doors for them to shape their lives into the happiness they all deserved.

Her life might have taken several painful and strange turns, but it wouldn’t have led her to meet any of the people she’s come to care so much for. It was a path she wouldn’t ever regret having taken. They might not be the husbands she grew up envisioning, but she knew without a doubt in her mind, they were the ones she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

She was finally home.


End file.
